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GSC plays an integral role in the Galapagos Inter-Institutional Commission for Responsible Plastics Use

Beginning in 2012, the plenary of the Galapagos Governing Council (CGREG), the highest government instance in Galapagos, voted to implement the recommendations from a study conducted by a consultant from the Galapagos National Park Directorate (GNPD) on the use of disposable plastics in Galapagos, with a focus on the t-shirt type plastic bags, to provide the baseline for an action plan to reduce their use (Diaz, 2011).

The resulting resolution (No. 011-CGREG-2012) stated that an inter-institutional commission would be established to develop an action plan and ensure its implementation. The commission, formed in 2014, included the following institutions:

  • Technical Secretary of CGREG
  • GNPD
  • Ministry of Tourism’s Insular Zonal Coordination
  • Municipality of San Cristóbal
  • Municipality of Santa Cruz
  • Municipality of Isabela
  • WWF (World Wildlife Fund)
  • USFQ-GAIAS- Galapagos Science Center (GSC)

Since then, the GSC has regularly informed the Commission and supportive groups of the most recent scientific results regarding the effects of marine plastics in the Galapagos and world´s oceans.

Juan Pablo Muñoz-Pérez, GSC resident researcher, continues his research with the GNPD under research permit Number PC-23-19. Read more, and browse documentaries, about his work on Our Researchers tab.

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Pablo D. Llerena, Jorge J. Avila-Santamaría, María V. Gabela, Sara Purca, Carlos F. Mena, Susana A. Cárdenas, (2025). Assessing economic losses in artisanal fisheries from marine plastic pollution in coastal Ecuador and Peru, Marine Policy, Volume 173, 106553, ISSN 0308-597X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106553.
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Arnés-Urgellés C, Galván-Magaña F, Elorriaga-Verplancken FR, Delgado-Huertas A, Páez-Rosas D. (2024). Ontogenetic feeding shifts in two thresher shark species in the Galapagos Marine Reserve. PeerJ 12:e18681 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.18681
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In 2022, the Galapagos Science Center (GSC) and the broader UNC & USFQ Galapagos Initiative will celebrate its 10th Anniversary. We are proud to announce the World Summit on Island Sustainability scheduled to be held on June 26–30, 2022 at the Galapagos Science Center and the Community Convention Center on San Cristobal Island.

The content of the World Summit will be distributed globally through social media and results documented through papers published in a book written as part of the Galapagos Book Series by Springer Nature and edited by Steve Walsh (UNC) & Carlos Mena (USFQ) as well as Jill Stewart (UNC) and Juan Pablo Muñoz (GSC/USC). The book will be inclusive and accessible by the broader island community including scientists, managers, residents, tourists, and government and non-government organizations.

While the most obvious goal of organizing the World Summit on Island Sustainability is to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the GSC and the UNC-USFQ Galapagos Initiative, other goals will be addressed through special opportunities created as part of our operational planning of the World Summit.

For instance, we seek to elevate and highlight the Galapagos in the island conservation discourse, seeking to interact with other island networks in more obvious and conspicuous ways to benefit the Galapagos Islands, the UNC-USFQ Galapagos Initiative, and the world. We will seize the opportunity to further develop the I2N2 – International Islands Network-of-Networks. Further, we wish to highlight and emphasize multiple visions of a sustainable future for the Galapagos Islands and we cannot do this alone. Therefore, engaging the Ecuadorian Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Tourism, the Government Council of Galapagos, the Galapagos National Park, and local Galapagos authorities, including government and non-government organizations and local citizen groups, is imperative.

The Galapagos Science Center on San Cristobal Island, Galapagos

Borrowing from Hawaii’s and Guam’s Green Growth Program and the Global Island Partnership, we wish to examine existing global programs that emphasize island sustainability and their incorporation into life, policies, and circumstances in the Galapagos Islands. We will also seek to enhance our connections with the institutional members of our International Galapagos Science Consortium and expand the Consortium through the recruitment of other member institutions. We will also work to benefit islands and their local communities by working with citizen groups as well as important NGOs who seek to improve the natural conditions in the Galapagos and diminish the impact of the human dimension on the future of Galapagos’ ecosystems.

Lastly, we will use the World Summit to benefit UNC & USFQ and our constituencies through a strong and vibrant communication plan about the World Summit, creating corporate relationships as sponsors, identifying funding goals through donors, and benefiting our study abroad program for student engagement in the Galapagos Islands. We plan to develop and issue a Galapagos Sustainability Communique after the World Summit that includes the vision and insights of all its participants for a sustainable Galapagos with applicability to global island settings.

We are eager to hear your perspective and have you join us at the World Summit on Island Sustainability!