WWF On the Ground in Galapagos Islands

Irreplaceable islands

Six hundred miles off the coast of Ecuador lies a group of islands that were unknown until just a few centuries ago. Free of humans and many other predators for almost all of their history, the islands have developed unique forms of life, highly adapted to their harsh surroundings and ecological isolation from the rest of the world.

It was not until Charles Darwin's famous visit to the islands in 1835, which helped inspire the theory of evolution by natural selection, that the Galapagos Islands gained international recognition.

As is usually the case, the visibility and attention did more harm than good to this living paradise. The Islands were badly hit three years ago by an oil spill from the tanker Jessica, as growing numbers of tourists and residents continue to threaten their future.