Galapagos - UNIT 4 Case Studies

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  • Galapagos (Conservation+ Management to reduce capacity)
  • Sources
    • the guardian.com and Tourism, Leisure and Recreation book by Nargle
  • - impacts of tourism
    • 24% of plant species and 50% of vertebrate species = endangered = human activity
    • National Park charges a $100 entrance fee = only receive 25% of this
    • 10,000 finches run over = increase of cars/vehicles
    • Increase in shanty suburbs and half finished hotels
  • + impacts of tourism
    • Over 2000 people employed in tourism industry = positive multiple effect
    • Entrance fee taxes goes towards supporting a variety of organisations
    • Generates £143m a year
    • Gross income generated by tourism has increased by 14% each year
  • Location/type of tourism
    • Off the West coast of Ecuador, South America, forming an archipelago / Mass tourism
  • Management
    • Investment from international organisations to help the funding of problems caused by tourism
      • The Galapagos National Park Interpretation Centre has displays on the island's biodiversity and cultural history
        • The Charles Darwin Research Station also acts as an educational resource base for tourists
          • Introduced entrance fees of $25 which goes towards this trust
    • 1998 - Special Law for Galapagos to conserve plants/animals, covering: immigration restriction, quarantine of introduced organisms and fisheries
    • Set 'carrying capacity' limits for different sites and restricting the number of visitors allowed in some areas
    • They have had to implement stricter management than the Lake District as they have a more fragile rural landscape, different location on the wilderness spectrum
    • Different zones
      • Extensive use - high value biodiversity so numbers are very limited
      • Intensive use - still a large amount of important biodiversity but tourists are allowed in honeypot sites
      • Recreational use - planning boat routes so that areas are not overwhelmed by visitors at any one time
  • Management successfulness
    • Successful
      • International organisation spent £485,000 on sewage problems
      • Funding for conservation has increased massively
      • UN withdrew the islands from the World Heritage Danger List (Guardian 2010)
    • Unsuccessful
      • Local people had no idea had to use the new system for the sewage and so the waste was going into the ground untreated
      • Not everyone agreed with the UN's decision - was it too premature? Some worried of relaxation of vigilant management and conservation efforts, and funding was not seen as an answer to the crisis
      • A weak and unstable government system e.g. 11 different directors since 2002

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