The Islands now generate approximately US$143 million a year through tourism. The sources and effects of pollution within the ocean surrounding the Galapagos Islands Waste management and pollution control in Galapagos is an issue growing in importance. (Parque Nacional de Galápagos) An iguana enjoys the sun’s rays as it lies on the surface of one of the rocky islands. The Galapagos Islands offer a unique ecological landscape found nowhere else in the world. Plastic pollution reaches Darwin's Galapagos Islands where the seals now use bottles as toys and the finches line their nests with man-made fibres. Single-use plastics have caused an international crisis with plastic pollution reaching even the most remote and protected areas of the globe like the Galapagos Islands. Residents collect litter in the Galápagos. Although human settlement is restricted to only 3% of the islands (97% of the archipelago is protected by the National Park), the effect that this growing population has on the islands is becoming perilous. One of the biggest benefits that tourism brings to the Island is money. The Galápagos authorities have taken significant steps to tackle plastic pollution on the islands, and have gone so far as to declare 2018 the year of the fight against plastic pollution – bringing together the efforts of governments, scientists and citizens. Approximately 600 miles or 1,000 kilometres from the west Ecuadorian coastline, a paradise of 172 islands, islets, and rocks is home for one of the world’s highest calibre of biodiversity. In 2007, 161,859 people visited the islands; in 2018, that number had jumped to 275,000. Read Why this sea lion is a symbol of the plastic pollution threat to the Galápagos Islands latest on ITV News. Galapagos Islands: Blue Footed FamilyThe four inhabited islands of Isabela, Santa Cruz, San Cristobal, and Floreana are now home to over 40,000 people. Galapagos Islands Plastic Pollution Problem. The Galapagos Islands, one of the most protected areas on Earth, are now facing a plastic pollution problem even though 97 percent of the islands are off limits to humans.. Plastic pollution has long been an environmental problem worldwide but it seems 2018 is the year of the pollution fight! For months, they had been cleaning the remote beaches of these iconic islands 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador and removing tonnes of plastic waste, much of it carried to the islands from other corners of the planet. It should be clear to all of us, therefore, that in spite of their “splendid isolation”, man-made waste and pollution are becoming a major risk that threatens the Galapagos Islands’ unique fauna and flora, both inland and in the Galapagos Marine Reserve. All the Environment news Tourism in the Galápagos Islands has been on an uptick for the past decade. The team are still waiting for the samples they gathered to arrive in Exeter, where they will be analysed, and then a full set of results will be published. In the Galapagos Islands. Pollution is defined as the ‘introduction of contaminants into the natural environment, causing adverse change.’ Pollutants can be of natural causes, such as volcano ash, or manmade, such as smoke, or plastic pollution. Trash on Paradise: The Galapagos Islands Plastic Pollution Problem. However, a lack of water and sanitation infrastructure within populated areas of the Galapagos Islands has the potential to affect many of these ecosystem attributes. When the clean-up volunteers in the Galápagos Islands came across a soda can with a brand from Indonesia, they were hardly surprised. The Galapagos authorities are intending to ban plastic bottles completely next year, and are currently researching how local people and tourists will best be able to access safe drinking water. Abstract. What benefits do tourists bring to the Galapagos Islands? Seals have been recorded playing with plastic water bottles, hermit crabs are using bottles as shells, and Galapagos finches are lining their nests with plastic fibers. Visitors contribute a lot of money to the economy Galapagos Islands.