Ecuador Travel

A few Ecuadorian businessmen tried to reap a profit on the islands, harvesting lichens and cultivating sugar cane in large plantations. Swathes of the islands were leased to the United States after the construction of the Panama Canal in order to protect that important waterway. The airstrip at Baltra was built by the US originally as an air force base. During this time, more migration to the islands occurred, both from mainland Ecuador and around the world.

In 1957, most of the islands were declared a national park. The flow of tourists began a few years later, but it was a mere trickle until regular air service began in the 1970s. Since that time, the park has been expanded by declaring the waters around the islands to be protected space. As tourism has expanded, the cities of Puerto Ayora and Puerto Baquerizo Moreno have grown accordingly.

One of the biggest impacts of human settlement in the Galápagos has been the introduction of non-native species. Plants and animals that evolved on the islands did not evolve with any protection against many predators, since there were relatively few on the islands. However, early settlers brought a number of species, including goats, dogs, cats, rats and pigs. These species decimated the native plant and animal populations, but steps have been taken to eradicate invasive species.

Poaching and fishing have also been an issue for the islands. The earliest visitors to the islands harvested turtles for meat, while many migrants moved to the islands to fish their abundant waters. In recent years, however, more effort has been made to prevent the misuse of the island's natural resources, and these problems have been abated.

Back to "Galápagos History, part 1"