Unesco places Galápagos Islands on endangered list

Unable to reconcile environmental conservation with human population growth, Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands have landed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) List of World Heritage in Danger. The classification, made June 26, means Unesco has formally concluded that the natural characteristics underlying the naming of the Galápagos as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1978 are threatened and require corrective action. Unesco’s World Heritage Committee, meeting in Christchurch, New Zealand, also added Senegal’s Niokolo-Koba National Park to its endangered list, citing poaching and plans for a hydroelectric dam. In the case of the Galápagos, the panel pointed to invasive species as well as growing tourism and immigration. (See “Influx of humans testing Galápagos limits”—EcoAméricas, June ’07.) The Unesco action regarding... [Log in to read more]

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