Another component that must be outlined is the debt-for-conservation swap.
At the start of the international climate conference (COP26) held in Glasgow, Scotland, the president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, announced the creation of a new protected area in Galapagos. He said the new area will be 60,000 square kilometers. This is intended to give more protection to migratory species such as sharks and whales.
After the announcement, the Minister of the Environment, Gustavo Manrique, affirmed that the decree to declare the protected area would be ready at the end of December or the beginning of January 2022. The exact coordinates of the extension of the protected area that, as has been said, will be on the Cocos mountain range and will reach the maritime border with Costa Rica must also be established with satellite systems. This is so that the fishermen have the notice and know that they are in waters where fishing is prohibited.
After signing the decree, the Environment portfolio must prepare a Environmental Management Plan. Manrique has estimated that it will take three months, although this has raised doubts, since the current reserve plan took more than five years to be approved. However, the Secretary of the Environment has affirmed that by the second semester of next year the area would be in full force. That is to say, From the discourse, the new area has been created, but it remains to be defined, officially, on paper.
Another component to be outlined is the debt-for-conservation swap, from which the resources will be obtained to protect this new area and the entire archipelago, which Lasso also announced.
The amount for which the transaction will be carried out is not yet known, but Manrique told EL UNIVERSO that the country has already received calls from Credit Suisse, JP Morgan Chase, Citibank, Goldman Sachs, interested in the figure that is not new to the country. It is estimated that the financial structure would yield about $ 14 million annually for the ad infinitum protection of the archipelago. Those in charge of fine-tuning the details will be the Ministry of Finance and the president himself.
Several environmental organizations, including Más Galapagos, although they had proposed that the new reserve have an area of 445,951 kilometers, agreed with the announcement made by Lasso. They indicated that it is a “great first step”.
In addition, they have affirmed that this new area should promote more scientific research. The Charles Darwin Foundation, which has been working in the archipelago for more than 60 years, indicated that its scientific agenda will incorporate issues that include the new area, especially knowing what the impact will be on the protection of species and on commercial fishing records. industrial.
The interesting thing about the creation of this area is that it also had the support of the industrial fishing sector. They had strongly opposed the proposal of more than 400,000 square kilometers, but by reducing the conservation area they agreed.
Lasso, within the framework of COP26, also signed an agreement with his peers from Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica to create the Marine Corridor of the Eastern Tropical Pacific. “The largest protected area in the world.” If this announcement is ratified, this would be a great relief for migratory marine species, whose populations are increasingly reduced due to the impact of human activities. (I)
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