UNESCO drops Galapagos off endangered list

UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee said Wednesday it dropped the Pacific islands of Galapagos off its list of endangered sites.

The decision, by a vote of 14 to five, with one abstention, was due to efforts by Ecuador, of which the islands are part, to protect Galapagos, UNESCO said at its 34th annual world heritage meeting in the Brazilian capital.

“It is important to recognize the effort undertaken by the Ecuadorian government to preserve its heritage,” said Luiz Fernando de Almeida, head of the Brazilian delegation, who authored the proposal for withdrawal.

Marcela Aguinaga, Ecuador’s environment minister, welcomed the decision.

The archipelago, home to unique flora and fauna has been on the endangered list since 2007, due to negative effects on the environment due to rising numbers of tourists and illegal settlers from the mainland.

The rising number of people increased the risk of introduction of alien plant or animal species to the islands’ ecosystem.

Ecuador’s government ordered the resettlement of illegal settles to the mainland, better supervision of tourism and worked to improve the islands’ self-sufficiency in food and energy with solar and wind energy.

The volcanic archipelago, located about 1,000 kilometres off Ecuador’s western coast is home to about 20,000 people, living on five of Galapagos’ more than 100 islands. The island chain became famous when visited by Charles Darwin in 1835.

The meeting of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which started Sunday is to last until August 3.

This year the committee will consider 32 fresh nominations, which include six natural, 24 cultural and two mixed (both natural and cultural) sites.

As of 2009, UNESCO’s World Heritage list numbered at total of 890 sites.

via UNESCO drops Galapagos off endangered list | Earth Times News.