EcoTourism Visits the Galapagos Archipelago

Summary

Developing and promoting environmentally and socially sustainable tourism in the fragile and beautiful Galapagos is a viable way to protect this treasure while enabling visitors to enjoy it.

What is the issue, problem, or challenge?

Conservacion y Desarollo (Conservation and Development) in Ecuador is ensuring that tour boats taking tourists to the Galapagos meet a stringent set of standards for environmental and social health and safety. They now need to hire and train more auditors to verify boat operations are complying with the standards, and staff to train local tour operators in safe travel. The program benefits a myriad of workers, their families and local wildlife.

How will this project solve this problem?

Training tour operators in sustainable procedures and verifying compliance with strict standards through monitoring and evaluation audits.

Potential Long Term Impact

The goal of the project is to transform the tourism industry in the Galapagos from environmentally and socially hazardous to benign.

Project Message

Darwin left us with his lasting impression of these unique islands. Everyone should have a chance to visit this magical place, but they should leave nothing but stories behind for the next visitor.
- Jonathan Labozzetta, Membership Coordinator

Additional Documentation

This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Word file (projdoc.doc).

Resources