Science and Conservation in the Galapagos Islands

Valle, Carlos A.

doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-5794-7_1

Cited by 3 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 85 publications

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“…Technical specialists suggested the importance of community education and awareness for water resources conservation [55]. However, local stakeholders and government plans did not identify this as a priority.…”

Section: San Cristobalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Governance Mechanisms and Barriers for Achieving Water Quality Improvements in Galapagos

et al. 2020

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Human activities contribute to the degradation of water quality on the Galapagos Islands, affecting human health and Galapagos’ fragile ecosystem. Despite the numerous resources vested in water management, programs have yet to achieve measurable improvements in water quality. To identify the governance mechanisms and barriers to improving water quality, we applied a two-pronged strategy: a collaborative, bottom-up compilation and prioritization of technical specialists and stakeholders’ concerns, and an evaluation of top-down government plans. The comparison of priorities and programs shows four major themes that require attention: barriers to better governance, community involvement, research, and policy. The islands lack a transparent method for accountability of the funds designated for water management, the efficacy of implementation, and results and progress beyond government periods. Government projects have included limited public participation, resulting in projects that do not meet stakeholder’s needs and concerns. Furthermore, the majority of the programs have not been completed within the timeline or budgets allocated. We recommend implementing a participatory governance mechanism that responds to each island’s context, balances socioecological and policy priorities and evaluates past projects to have adequate benchmarking, mitigating a planning fallacy. All programs should be accompanied by a transparent monitoring system that ensures accountability and evaluates water quality programs’ efficiency and effectiveness, according to goals and indicators developed collaboratively. This research may aid practitioners in small island developing states (SIDS) around the globe that are struggling with similar water management and governance issues and who may benefit from taking a bottom-up and top-down approach to assessing technical specialists’ and local stakeholders’ concerns in relation to past, present and future government programs.

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Section: San Cristobalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Governance Mechanisms and Barriers for Achieving Water Quality Improvements in Galapagos

et al. 2020

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“…Naturalist Lack and Eibl-Eibesfeldt encouraged the study the ecological system of Galápagos and demanded more effective protection of the islands [147].…”

Section: -1958mentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards Comprehensive Policy Integration for the Sustainability of Small Islands: A Landscape-Scale Planning Approach for the Galápagos Islands

2018

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Accomplishing and implementing sustainable development goals in the context of insular socio-ecological systems requires effective policy integration-i.e., the integration of policy actors across multiple sectors and levels of government to improve policy outcomes. However, achieving policy integration entails significant challenges because it is highly context-dependent. This study investigates policy integration within the complex socio-ecological context of the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador. The paper analyses Galápagos legal and planning documents to evaluate the extent to which they support comprehensive policy integration. The analysis found that recently adopted institutional arrangements have strengthened government institutions at the provincial level, and started to consider concepts relating to socio-ecological and land-sea management. Nevertheless, key policy actors and pressing issues remain unattended, due to policy inconsistencies, institutional arrangements limitations, and fragmented approaches to conservation and development control between provincial and local governments. Insights are presented to improve the comprehensiveness of policy integration in Galápagos based on a landscape-scale planning approach.

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“…As with many other island systems, alien invasive species are considered one of the greatest threats to native Galápagos flora and fauna (Trueman et al 2010;Valle 2013). Currently, 1579 introduced species -including historical records, eradicated and intercepted species -have been recorded in Galápagos, of which 1476 have become established in the islands (ToralGranda et al 2017).…”

Section: Invasive Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Galápagos has played a key role in biological sciences since Charles Darwin visited in 1835 (Valle 2013). Darwin's observations led to the development of his theory of evolution by natural selection and drew the world's attention to this then largely unheard-of group of islands.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Charles Darwin Research Station opened in 1964 ( Corley Smith 1990) and supported numerous scientists undertaking research in Galápagos, making the archipelago one of 'most studied places on earth' (Valle 2013). Santander et al (2009) noted that research had been largely in the biophysical sciences with particular focus on certain taxa, especially birds and reptiles, while Watkins (2008) recommended more social science research to provide the information required to manage the impacts of human activities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Corrigendum to: A collaboratively derived environmental research agenda for Galápagos

Izurieta¹,

Delgado²,

Moity³

et al. 2018

Pac. Conserv. Biol.

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Galápagos is one of the most pristine archipelagos in the world and its conservation relies upon research and sensible management. In recent decades both the interest in, and the needs of, the islands have increased, yet the funds and capacity for necessary research have remained limited. It has become, therefore, increasingly important to identify areas of priority research to assist decision-making in Galápagos conservation. This study identified 50 questions considered priorities for future research and management. The exercise involved the collaboration of policy makers, practitioners and researchers from more than 30 different organisations. Initially, 360 people were consulted to generate 781 questions. An established process of preworkshop voting and three rounds to reduce and reword the questions, followed by a two-day workshop, was used to produce the final 50 questions. The most common issues raised by this list of questions were human population growth, climate change and the impact of invasive alien species. These results have already been used by a range of organisations and politicians and are expected to provide the basis for future research on the islands so that its sustainability may be enhanced.

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Science and Conservation in the Galapagos Islands

Cited by 3 publications

References 85 publications

Governance Mechanisms and Barriers for Achieving Water Quality Improvements in Galapagos

Governance Mechanisms and Barriers for Achieving Water Quality Improvements in Galapagos

Towards Comprehensive Policy Integration for the Sustainability of Small Islands: A Landscape-Scale Planning Approach for the Galápagos Islands

Corrigendum to: A collaboratively derived environmental research agenda for Galápagos

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