There was consensus with environmentalists and the fishing sector to add an additional 60,000 km2 to the Galapagos marine reserve

The president of the Republic, Guillermo Lassoannounced on Monday morning the expansion of 60,000 square kilometers more of the marine reserve of the Galapagos Islands which is currently 133,000 km2 (40 miles). He did it during the development of the UN conference against climate change that is being held in the Scottish city of Glasgow until this November 12.

The president explained that the creation of this new marine reserve would take place in exchange for the “largest debt-for-conservation swap ever made in the world.”

“This decision by Ecuador will cause financial proposals to be made to swap debt for conservation. We estimate that it will be the largest amount (…) that has been made so far in the world, “said Lasso, who revealed that his government is studying” some proposals, “but is also analyzing other forms of financing.

One of these possibilities is that the country itself can, with the support of multilateral credit organizations, carry out this exchange so that all the benefits are placed in a trust where the only beneficiary is the Ministry of Environment, Water and Transition. Ecological

COP26: Guillermo Lasso offers a new marine reserve in Galapagos in exchange for a debt swap

Regarding the new reserve announced, of 60,000 km2, it was explained that it will be divided into two zones of 30,000 km2 each:

A non-fishery production zone (no take zone), which connects the waters of Ecuador with those of Costa Rica, in what is known as the Galapagos and Cocos Island migration route and is on the underwater mountain range of Cocos. With the protection of this migration route, the possibilities of better protection for migratory species, such as sharks, turtles and stingrays, will be increased.

While the second is a no-longline zone (no long line zone), located northwest of the current Galapagos marine reserve, which will help prevent longlines from entering the current marine reserve.

Eliecer Cruz, spokesperson for Más Galapagos, Collective that was behind the initiative to expand the protected area of ​​the islands, was pleased by the announcement. “It is a good start and we believe that in the near future there should be further increases in the marine protected area,” said the leader.

He added that they received the support of more than 160 organizations, collected more than 50,000 signatures in support of the proposal, developed workshops with different sectors in the three islands, in addition to three meetings with the industrial fishing sector, and then delivered the proposal to Minister Gustavo Manrique, who assumed the leadership of this proposal.

“It is also important to congratulate the Government for the decision to take the debt swap as a mechanism to finance the control of the marine area, as well as to finance key projects for the islands,” added Cruz.

For its part, Alberto Andrade, coordinator of the citizen group Insular Front for the Galapagos Marine Reserve, He recalled that the first time that the community requested the extension of the reserve was on August 25, 2017, when this group was also created.

He indicated that this announcement gives a break to the emblematic and commercial species “so that they can continue their life.”

“We are happy, but even more committed to continue working to protect this reserve, we joined more than 160 organizations, including More Galapagos that led this process,” said Andrade, who also recalled that there were many who opposed, as he said, for commercial and extractivist interests.

One of the sectors that made their observations to the initiative public was the fishing sector, since at the beginning of this year a proposal was being handled to expand the protected area to 435,000 square kilometers, a condition that was not shared by this sector.

In that occasion, Bruno Leone, president of the National Fisheries Chamber, assured that in that area between 25% and 30% of the annual catches are made, that is, around $ 380 million If translated into the value of the catch, but plus the value of processing and 1.78% due to the industry chain, the impact could have escalated to $ 676 million, a situation that worried his sector.

Fishing unions denounce alleged proposal to exchange expansion of the Galapagos marine reserve for debt

However, now the situation has changed, said Leone when consulted by EL UNIVERSO newspaper after the announcement by President Lasso in Scotland.

“Those values ​​were when it was intended to extend the reserve in 435,000 km2, now the thing changed. No compensation is contemplated (for the fishing sector), that is our contribution to the world ”, clarified the leader, who assured that the announcement made by the president was previously discussed with his sector, which now agree to expand the protected area.

“It is an announcement that was discussed and worked on between the Government and us, so it seems important to me to have reached an agreement that on the one hand contributes to conserving the wealth of that heritage of humanity that are the Galapagos Islands and on the other hand the contribution of the fishermen in that sense ”, added Leone, who pointed out that the important thing, now, is to highlight the agreement reached with the sector; and then “you have to see how that is going to be regulated.”

Meanwhile, Andrade, like Cruz, pointed out that this expansion is only the beginning and a first step for others that could take place in the future.

“All this is a process, it is a first step to gain confidence and that they also understand that this is not to prohibit, but to protect, which are two very different things, so that there are benefits especially for the tuna sector,” he said the leader, who announced that they will continue to support this type of initiative.

In this regard, Cruz indicated that if there were future expansions in the reserve, it would not necessarily be through a debt swap. “With this financing, the entire insular EEZ -Exclusive Economic Zone- could be managed. The idea is to at least double the current reserve ”, he advanced.