Immigration puts pressure on pristine Galapagos

By AMY TAXIN

GALAPAGOS ISLANDS, Ecuador - When Ximena Canchignia set up her souvenir shop seven years ago, tourists flocked to buy T-shirts painted with the giant tortoises and exotic birds that made the Galapagos Islands famous worldwide.

But now the native islander sits on her stoop, hoping to make a meagre sale. She says business has suffered since thousands of newcomers from the Ecuadorean mainland have flooded the islands and opened stores like hers along the main strip.

"I don't know how people started coming. There's so many people living here now," said Canchignia, 25, who recalls when a handful of families lived in Galapagos and knew everyone by name. "Anyone should be able to come and go, but not to stay."

Immigration to Galapagos seems unstoppable from Ecuador's poverty-stricken mainland and threatens to upset the pristine ecosystem that is cherished by nature lovers around the world.

Human beings occupy just 3 per cent of the islands located some 1000km west of South America in aquamarine Pacific Ocean waters that are home to unique blue-footed booby birds, sea lions and tropical fish.

The rest of Galapagos is protected as park land. Iguanas catch shade beneath the spiny cactus that dot the arid islands and pelicans perch on chunks of volcanic rock that jut out of the archipelago's turquoise waters.

The picturesque islands are famous for helping to inspire 19th century British naturalist Charles Darwin to propose his theory of natural selection after observing how birds adapted to distinct environments in the archipelago.

But immigration has nearly doubled the archipelago's population to more than 18,000 over the past decade.

Scientists say a key threat to Galapagos is the rising number of ships, planes and people who arrive from the mainland bringing foreign plants or animals that could overtake species that are found only in the archipelago.

"There's a direct link: more people, more invasive species and less biodiversity," said Fernando Espinoza, director of the Charles Darwin Foundation, a research institute funded by several nations and conservation groups. "With more people we'll have more activity and our demands will grow."

Galapagos' population grew by an annual 5.9 per cent over the past decade, more than any other Ecuadorean province and nearly three times the national average, official statistics show.

Island authorities hoped a 1998 law to conserve Galapagos that outlawed most immigration would help curb population growth. But by making residency in the islands a privilege, the law appears to have spurred just the opposite -- a population boom.

Native islanders are the first to lure cousins and friends over with the promise of well-paid jobs in the tourism industry and the smattering of hotels, restaurants and shops that cater to more than 70,000 travellers who visit Galapagos each year, many of whom hop from island to island on luxury cruise ships.

Close family members are eligible for residency. Others stay in Galapagos illegally, hoping they won't get caught.

Santa Cruz, the biggest of Galapagos' inhabited islands, has used up its last bit of habitable land on housing and pushed its power grid to the limit.

Ingala, the government agency in charge of planning and immigration controls for Galapagos, says that 2 per cent of what today is park land to protect wildlife could be turned over for human needs if space grows tight. But that's only a partial solution if the population continues to grow.

"There's not enough control," said Danny Rueda, delegate for Ingala in Santa Cruz, who advocates joining forces with the police to crack down on illegal immigration. "And it's starting to cause problems. There's a lack of physical space."

Islanders have few luxuries and lack basics like clean tap water. But they know they live far better than the 12 million Ecuadoreans on the mainland, many of whom scavenge waste bins for food and peddle candy on city buses to get by.

In Galapagos, streets are free from beggars and women walk home alone by the banks of the bay after dark.

Islanders enjoy the easy pace of life in Galapagos, despite complaints about the high cost of importing goods from the mainland. But many are frustrated by the flood of cheap labour.

The question remains whether islanders' struggle to improve their lot will clash with activists' efforts to conserve the islands as they are today.

"The magic part of sustainable development, if there were such a thing, is that at some point people would stop wanting to have more. After your basic needs are covered, you wouldn't want anything else," Espinoza said.

"But, how can you stop that side of human nature?"

- REUTERS