TheGalápagosIslandshaveevolvedintoaspectacularplacefilledwithwondrousplantsandanimals.ManyarefoundnowhereelseonEarth.Theislandshavemoreendemicspeciesthananyotherislandclusterintheworld.Forty‑twopercentoftheplants;79percentofmammals;80percentofbirds;91percentofreptilesand56 percentofinsectsareendemictothe Galápagos.
Intheirisolation,theislandshavebecomealivinglaboratory forscientists.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.
