www.galapagospark.org
See also Galapagos Marine Reserve
Migramar Staff
 Eduardo Espinoza |
Galapagos National Park
Galápagos National Park, established in 1959, is Ecuador’s first national park. The government of Ecuador designated 97% of the land area of Galápagos as the country’s first National Park. The remaining 3% is distributed between the inhabited areas of Santa Cruz (and the small island of Baltra to the north where the main airport operates), San Cristobal, Floreana and Isabela.
In 1979 UNESCO declared the Galápagos Islands the first ever World Natural Heritage Site. A fast human development in the islands since then made UNESCO add Galapagos to its list of World Heritage Sites in Danger in 2007.
Galapagos Marine Reserve
This is the most important Marine Reserve in Ecuador and the second largest in the world. It is 133,000 km² of World Heritage.
The creation of the Galapagos Marine Reserve dates back several decades. Aware of the fragility of the marine ecosystems considering the increasing human activity on the Islands, the Terrestrial Management Plan of the National Park of 1974 already recommended the protection of a two nautical mile stretch of sea around each island. With the Organic Law of Special Regime for the Conservation and Sustainable Development of the Galapagos (LOREG) of 1998, the protected area is extended and formally becomes the Galapagos Marine Reserve (GMR).
The area between the islands of the Marine Reserve is 133,000 square kilometers of sea surface. It includes the inland waters of the Islands (50,100 km²) and the entire area within 40 nautical miles measured from the coasts of the outer Islands.
In 2001, the GMR was included in the list of World Heritage Sites, thus recognizing its enormous ecological, cultural, and economic value for the conservation and maintenance of unique species in the world.
The Galapagos National Park Service
The Galapagos National Park Service is responsible for the conservation of the ecological integrity and biodiversity of island and marine ecosystems of the protected areas of the archipelago, as well as a rational use of the goods and services they generate for the local communities.
