report of goats in the habitat of the most intact race
of Galápagos tortoise. By 1997, the goat population
was close to 100 000, and the habitat of the tortoises
and other fauna on Alcedo was reported to be col-
lapsing. It is indicative of the problem facing many
conservationists that appeals for donations to
finance the goat control programme had to be
issued, for example, in the journal Conservation
Biology, as the Charles Darwin Foundation at that
time lacked the core funding needed (Herrero
1997). One former director of the Charles Darwin
Research Station, Chantal M. Blanton, noted with
dismay that the national financial commitment to
conservation research in the Galápagos slipped to
zero in 1995, while tourist concessions doubled
between 1992 and 1996 (Galápagos Newsletter1996).
When asked to name the most important problems
facing the islands, she listed: first, introduced ani-
mals and the lack of a functioning quarantine sys-
tem; secondly, inadequate political and financial
support from government; and thirdly, the politi-
cizing of the National Park Service and of posts
requiring technical expertise. Although recent suc-
cesses in reducing and in some cases eradicating
goats and pigs from islands in the Galápagos archi-
pelago are greatly encouraging—it seems that
methods now exist for efficient eradication pro-
grammes (Box 12.2)—funding remains a key limit-
ing factor in island goat eradications generally
(Campbell and Donlan 2005).
The basic conservation problem of the Galápagos
is the ever-accelerating breakdown of the islands’
former isolation as a result of of dramatic changes in
human population size, activity patterns, and
mobility (Trillmich 1992). The real impact of the
tourist business occurs not through the direct dis-
turbance to animals by tourists armed with cameras
but indirectly via the socio-economic changes on the
four inhabited islands. The resident human popula-
tion has grown rapidly due to the tourist and fish-
ing industries, from about 10 000 in 1990 to 28 000
by 2005. This growth has come largely from immi-
gration from mainland Ecuador, with migrants gen-
erating increased pressure on infrastructure and an
ongoing influx of alien species. Indeed, in a 5 year
period, about 100 new plant species were detected,
and although this sudden rise reflects new efforts
by botanists to record non-native and invasive
species (Tye 2006), there is no doubt that the
increased flow of people from the mainland has
contributed greatly to the non-native flora, as peo-
ple have brought in ornamental plants in the urban
areas, and have tested new agricultural plants in
the upland areas, from where several have already
spread to become ecologically and economically
expensive invasives (Scott Henderson, personal
communication).
The growth of the human population has meant
more pets. A survey in the main settlement on Santa
Cruz established that the dog population was about
300 at the start of the 1990s, with unwanted pups
being released to become feral. Feral dogs prey on
tortoise hatchlings and eggs, and in the late 1970s
wild dogs decimated a large colony of land iguanas
on Santa Cruz, killing over 500 animals (Jackson
1995). Remnants of endemic birds, reptiles, and
even insects in cat faeces bear witness to the
impacts these animals have in both feral and
domesticated conditions. Although the National
Parks Service is working to keep the feral popula-
tion low, it will be difficult to reduce the number of
domestic dogs as long as robberies in the villages
continue to increase, as this creates an incentive for
settlers to keep dogs (Trillmich 1992). An intensive
community-based programme is underway to
increase owner responsibility through education
programmes, designed to demonstrate the long-
term benefits of maintaining the archipelago’s
unique biological diversity and heritage (Scott
Henderson, personal communication). The case
articulated by numerous conservationists over
more than 25 years for a quarantine system is over-
whelming. But, in common with feral animal con-
trol and other conservation measures, this will only
ultimately be successful with sustained political
and societal support.12.2 Some conservation responses
Adsersen (1995) notes the prevalence of the same
invasive plants in archipelagos as diverse and
remote from one another as the Mascarenes, theSOME CONSERVATION RESPONSES 329