Although environmentalists had proposed a larger extension, they see it as a “great first step” to add 60,000 square kilometers to the protection zone.
The decision to create a new 60,000-square-kilometer marine reserve in the Galapagos Islands, announced on November 1 by President Guillermo Lasso, has been celebrated by environmental organizations and governments around the world.
The announcement was made in the framework of COP26. Lasso explained that the creation of this area will be the “largest debt-for-conservation swap ever made in the world.”
Where will the new reserve be located?
The new marine reserve in the Enchanted Islands would add to the 133,000 square kilometers of its waters that are already protected today and where 95% of the registered species are unique in the world. That is, a total of 193,000 square kilometers will be protected.
The new reserve will have 30,000 kilometers of non-fishery production zone located on the Cocos mountain range and 30,000 kilometers of no longline located at the continuation of the marine reserve in the northwest and it will also serve as a “living laboratory” for the development of scientific research.
Was there another initial proposal?
Several organizations, including Más Galapagos and the Insular Front, and scientists such as Alex Hearn had proposed, since the Lenín Moreno administration, that the new reserve have an area of 445,951 square kilometers composed of four fishing management zones. This proposal had generated criticism from the industrial fishing sector.
After talks, led by Environment Minister Gustavo Manrique, the 60,000 square kilometers were agreed, Lasso said.
“Although we have not achieved the objective originally set, we consider that this has been a great first step that the Ecuadorian Government has taken to protect our fish wealth,” says Eliecer Cruz de Más Galapagos.
Industrial fishermen have not commented on this new reserve. EL UNIVERSO learned that the National Fisheries Chamber would hold a press conference on Tuesday, November 9, to communicate its position.
How much would the debt-for-conservation swap amount to the new marine area in Galapagos?
This area would have a financial architecture based on the repurchase of Ecuadorian debt bonds by three large international entities, which would be exchanged for blue bonds. The operation would be for at least $ 1,100 million, according to Roque Sevilla, president of Grupo Futuro and who supported the project.
However, Lasso said, in an interview with the BBC, that the face value would be close to $ 300 million, which will eventually become a perpetual fund. In this way, it would be the largest debt swap operation in the history of Ecuador.
The Pew Foundation, the US Development Corporation and the Dutch Development Bank will participate in this financing.. Thus, the financial structure would yield about $ 14 million annually for protection to infinity.
The money will be invested in basic infrastructure works on at least the three main islands of the Galapagos archipelago with potable water and sewerage projects to the main islands, and also for the patrolling of the protected area, Lasso said.
In addition, the creation of a trust whose beneficiary is the Ministry of the Environment, Water and Ecological Transition is analyzed so that it can dispose of the proceeds.
Is it the first time that Ecuador has exchanged debt to conserve natural areas?
No. In 1987, Fundación Natura achieved the first debt-for-nature swap, for an amount of $ 10 million. The proceeds were destined to the protection of the natural areas of Ecuador.
Between 2005 and 2020, the debt swap with Spain was completed for $ 52 million of public investment for Ecuador for human talent, scientific strengthening, basic education in the first stage, reconstruction and equipping of hospitals that had been affected in the 2016 earthquake and in the millennium schools.
In 2007, former President Rafael Correa also announced an environmental proposal that proposed leaving the oil on land at the Yasuní ITT. However, although they raised $ 1.6 billion, the proposal did not come to fruition, as Correa rejected its conditions.
Why extend protection over the Cocos mountain range?
Alex Hearn and his team of biologists located transmitters to certain fish, among other marine species, and were able to determine that these species roam the marine mountain range between the island of Cocos (Costa Rica) and the north of Galapagos. Therefore, it was necessary to make this expansion by creating a kind of protection route for these animals whose behavior is migratory.
Some of the species monitored were:
- Whale sharks
- Hammerhead sharks
- Stingrays
- Green turtles
- Galapagos Albatross
In the Galapagos area, it is estimated that there are more than 30 marine species that are in danger of extinction or are vulnerable.
Why is it said that the expansion of the Galapagos Marine Reserve would be part of the largest protected area in the world?
Because Guillermo Lasso, within the framework of COP26, also signed an agreement with his peers from Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica in which they committed to the conservation and management of the ecosystems included in the Marine Corridor of the Eastern Tropical Pacific.
This agreement extends environmental protection to some of the regions that are considered richest in biodiversity in the world, such as Coco Island, in Costa Rica; Galapagos, in Ecuador; Malpelo, in Colombia, and Coiba, in Panama.
What is the main challenge when expanding the Galapagos Marine Reserve?
Achieve full protection. Since its creation in 1998, the different governments of Ecuador have had economic and logistical difficulties to fully monitor this reserve. Resources for equipment have always been scarce and the Armed Forces have repeatedly accepted that it is difficult to achieve 100% monitoring.
Lasso promised that from the proceeds from the new expansion, resources will also be allocated “to acquire the necessary technology” to protect the reserve.
The pressure on the Galapagos reserve is constant, both from the international and national fishing fleets that are located at the limit of this area to capture the species.
International vessels have been caught fishing within the reserve. For example, in 2017, the Chinese-flagged ship Fu Yuan Yu Leng 999 was intercepted.
On the ship, 12 shark species were found: 9 considered “vulnerable” or “higher risk” and 8 are included in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites). Of the 12 species of shark found, 11 can be found within the Galapagos Marine Reserve. (I)
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