Migration and the Environment in the Galapagos: An Analysis of Economic and Policy Incentives Driving Migration, Potential Impacts from Migration Control, and Potential Policies to Reduce Migration Pressure

Kerr, Suzi; Cardenas, Susana; Hendy, Joanna

doi:10.2139/ssrn.512062

Cited by 16 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Also affecting growth is the subsidization of the Galapagos economy, which indirectly promotes excessive consumption of resources and services. State subsidies to the archipelago, including subsidies to energy, education, transport, water, and fuel, are estimated to total approximately US$15 million annually (Kerr et al 2004). Subsidies introduce important economic distortions that have indirect effects on migration patterns and create numerous environmental externalities.…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, reduced local agricultural production increases the bulk of fresh, perishable foods imported from the mainland, which are the main vector of new invasive species arrival (Cremers 2002). Finally, of special concern is the fact that many of the rural lands that were formerly used for agricultural purposes are now being developed for residential housing (Kerr et al 2004).…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This pattern is quite similar to the current Galapagos situation. http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol13/iss2/art13/ Therefore, the widely promoted model of locally based tourism should be carefully planned with identifiable limits (Grenier 2000, Kerr et al 2004. Although it has the potential to be highly beneficial, some controls must be placed to ensure the conservation of the archipelago's natural ecosystems and to avoid a shift to a socially and environmentally undesirable state.…”

Section: Where Are We Going? Plausible Future Scenariosmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rethinking the Galapagos Islands as a Complex Social-Ecological System: Implications for Conservation and Management

González¹,

Montes²,

Rodríguez³

et al. 2008

E&S

186

110

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The Galapagos Islands are among the most renowned natural sites in the world. Unlike other oceanic archipelagos, the ecological and evolutionary processes characteristic of Galapagos have been minimally affected by human activities, and the archipelago still retains most of its original, unique biodiversity. However, several recent reports suggest that the development model has turned unsustainable and that the unique values of the archipelago might be seriously at risk. In response to international concern, UNESCO added Galapagos to the list of World Heritage in Danger in 2007. Our goal was to provide new insights into the origins of the present-day crisis and suggest possible management alternatives. To this end, we reexamined the Galapagos situation from a broad systems perspective, conceptualizing the archipelago as a complex social-ecological system. Past, present, and possible future trends were explored using the resilience theory as a perspective for understanding the dynamics of the system. Four major historical periods were characterized and analyzed using Holling's adaptive cycle metaphor. The current Galapagos situation was characterized as a prolonged series of crisis events followed by renewal attempts that have not yet been completed. Three plausible future scenarios were identified, with tourism acting as the primary driver of change. The current tourism model reduces the system's resilience through its effects on the economy, population growth, resource consumption, invasive species arrival, and lifestyle of the island residents. Opportunities to reorganize and maintain a desirable state do exist. However, strong political and management decisions are urgently needed to avoid an irreversible shift to a socially and environmentally undesirable regime. Key measures to achieve a new sustainability paradigm for Galapagos include modifying traditional practices to produce a more adaptive resilience-based co-management model, adopting a more comprehensive approach to territorial planning, strengthening participative approaches and institutional networks, and promoting transdisciplinary research at the frontiers of social and biophysical sciences.

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Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Where Are We Going? Plausible Future Scenariosmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Rethinking the Galapagos Islands as a Complex Social-Ecological System: Implications for Conservation and Management

González¹,

Montes²,

Rodríguez³

et al. 2008

E&S

186

110

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Despite this law, Galapagos has grown at a rate that is almost three times greater than the national average. Population growth has also resulted in an increase in the number of vehicles, which not only creates pressure for increased development of infrastructure (Kerr, Cardenas, and Hendy 2004) but also for the need for more fuel to be imported from the mainland.…”

Section: Tourism and The Marketing Of The "Natural Laboratory"mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This construct was first generated by evolutionary science, and then adopted by conservationists to argue for the need to protect the Islands' natural processes. Fisheries and tourism, by contributing to an increase in the population growth, also contribute to the introduction of new species of flora and fauna (Kerr, Cardenas andHendy 2004, Bremner andPerez 2002). Tour operators and naturalist guides popularize some of the key findings and discoveries of scientists.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crafting nature: the Galapagos and the making and unmaking of a "natural laboratory"

Quiroga

2009

Journal of Political Ecology

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Since Charles Darwin's famous visit to the Galapagos the reputation of the archipelago has been growing in the Western imagination as a place where one can study and understand evolutionary processes. Scientists who were concerned with collecting and classifying animals and plants from the Galapagos, with the support of UNESCO and other international organizations and universities, created the Charles Darwin Foundation in 1959. That same year, the Ecuadorian Government founded the Galapagos National Park, in charge of protecting 97% of the Archipelago's terrestrial area. Since its beginning the GNP sought to restore degraded ecosystems and thus craft a "natural laboratory". Part of the plan to protect the flora and fauna of the Islands included the creation of a large tourism industry based on cruises that go from island to island. Conservationists' efforts in the 1980s and 1990s focused on protecting the oceans around the Galapagos and controlling and managing fishing for sea cucumbers, lobsters and sharks. Local people, and in particular the fishermen, resisted the efforts made by the government, conservationists, and the booming and powerful tourism industry, to impose a globalized conservation strategy and discourse and to control and limit local residents' activities. They developed new forms of resistance, appropriation and negotiation to deal with the government and the different conservation organizations. As extractive activities became illegal and criminalized and as fishing became less important from an economic point of view, local people, including the fishermen, began to view tourism as an important alternative economic pursuit. During the late 1990s new decision making bodies emphasized consensus and instituted a participatory management system in the Galapagos Marine Reserve. These organisms were not entirely successful, however, and conflicts and tensions reemerged after their creation. Despite their participation in these organisms, many local people felt ignored and marginalized while many managers and conservationists felt that locals, and especially the fishermen, had been abusing the system and the management process. The "Galapagos Paradox" results from a process by which the very same conditions that cause the Galapagos to attract the attention of scientists, conservationists and of tourists, are being put at risk by the success of its reputation and the increasing number of residents and visitors. These visitors and residents threaten the isolation of the archipelago, which has been critical in maintaining the uniqueness of the islands.Key words: Galapagos, national park, conservation, resistance, fishing.

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Effect of urbanization and parasitism on the gut microbiota of Darwin's finch nestlings

Solomon,

Love,

Vaziri

et al. 2023

Molecular Ecology

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Host‐associated microbiota can be affected by factors related to environmental change, such as urbanization and invasive species. For example, urban areas often affect food availability for animals, which can change their gut microbiota. Invasive parasites can also influence microbiota through competition or indirectly through a change in the host immune response. These interacting factors can have complex effects on host fitness, but few studies have disentangled the relationship between urbanization and parasitism on an organism's gut microbiota. To address this gap in knowledge, we investigated the effects of urbanization and parasitism by the invasive avian vampire fly (Philornis downsi) on the gut microbiota of nestling small ground finches (Geospiza fuliginosa) on San Cristóbal Island, Galápagos. We conducted a factorial study in which we experimentally manipulated parasite presence in an urban and nonurban area. Faeces were then collected from nestlings to characterize the gut microbiota (i.e. bacterial diversity and community composition). Although we did not find an interactive effect of urbanization and parasitism on the microbiota, we did find main effects of each variable. We found that urban nestlings had lower bacterial diversity and different relative abundances of taxa compared to nonurban nestlings, which could be mediated by introduction of the microbiota of the food items or changes in host physiology. Additionally, parasitized nestlings had lower bacterial richness than nonparasitized nestlings, which could be mediated by a change in the immune system. Overall, this study advances our understanding of the complex effects of anthropogenic stressors on the gut microbiota of birds.

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Migration and the Environment in the Galapagos: An Analysis of Economic and Policy Incentives Driving Migration, Potential Impacts from Migration Control, and Potential Policies to Reduce Migration Pressure

Cited by 16 publications

References 15 publications

Rethinking the Galapagos Islands as a Complex Social-Ecological System: Implications for Conservation and Management

Rethinking the Galapagos Islands as a Complex Social-Ecological System: Implications for Conservation and Management

Crafting nature: the Galapagos and the making and unmaking of a "natural laboratory"

Effect of urbanization and parasitism on the gut microbiota of Darwin's finch nestlings

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