Conservation Efforts in the Galapagos Islands

960 kilometers away from Ecuador in South America lies the Galapagos archipelago. 19 main islands make up the Galapagos, surrounded by hundreds of less significant bodies of rock.

The islands are stretch 200 kilometers from west to east. The biggest island, Isabella, was created by volcanic activity underwater.

Charles Darwin and his book "The Origin of Species" introduced the Islands of the Galapagos to the public. His theory of natural selection based on his studies on the Galapagos roused great interest from the people of his time.

There were, however, people who knew of the Galapagos Islands years before Darwin did.

Since the 17^th century, the Islands of the Galapagos were well-known by sailors and pirates. Spanish sailors that reached the islands were astounded by the large population of giant tortoises – so they named the archipelago [Galapagos], meaning tortoise (or turtle).

After that, pirates began to destroy the ecosystem of the Galapagos Islands. 100,000 giant elephant tortoises were killed because they were considered as good sources of protein.

For the past 100 years, the human race has been destroying our planet, driving many species to extinction. The Galapagos was one of the places that suffered the most. We must understand that we do not own the world.

National parks are doing a lot to conserve and rebuild the habitat of the Galapagos. 70% of the archipelago has been designated as a part of the Galapagos national park.

Tourists cannot move around freely within the islands. There are also strict laws that promote the conservation of the Galapagos environment.

-Tourists are not allowed to eat on the islands – they must eat on their cruise ships.

-They are only allowed to move around with the permission of guides.

These measures were created to help protect the ecosystem of the islands.

Tourists cannot touch any animals on the Galapagos. Nor can they bring any seashells back to their home countries.