TheGalápagosIslandshaveevolvedintoaspectacularplacefilledwithwondrousplantsandanimals.ManyarefoundnowhereelseonEarth.Theislandshavemoreendemicspeciesthananyotherislandclusterintheworld.Forty‑twopercent oftheplants;79percentofmammals;80 percentof birds;91percentofreptilesand56percentofinsectsareendemictothe Galápagos.
Intheirisolation,theislandshavebecomealivinglaboratoryforscientists. Yet,invasivespeciesposegravethreatstotheGalápagos’uniqueecosystems.Weareoneofthosethreats.Today,morethan30,000 peopleliveontheislands.Morethan160,000touristsvisiteveryyear.Ourfootprintleavesanindeliblemarkonthisplace.TovisittheGalápagosIslandsisaremarkableprivilege.Wearehonor‑boundtobegood stewards.
Whatcanwedo?Wecanprotectvulnerablespeciesandecosystems.Wecanlimittheintroductionofinvasivespecies.Wecanpromoteclimateresearch.Wecanpromotecommunityawareness.Canwedothesethingsalone?No.Itwilltakeallofus,workingtogethertoprotectthisspecial place.
