The movement of people and products throughout the world is now greater than ever in all of human history. With more people living in the Galapagos Islands and more tourists coming, traffic of undesirable insects, rodents, plants and diseases to the islands increase.

"	The opening of entry points to the islands and the increasing flow of goods and people to the islands represent the greatest threat to the integrity of the ecosystems of Galapagos."

The history of species introduced by humans in Galapagos, and the subsequent degradation of its ecosystems, dates back to the first visitors. Whalers and pirates introduced species such as rats, goats and insects, but it was not until the second half of the twentieth century, with the population growth of the islands, the flow of invasive species began in full.

In the early 1950s, Galapagos had approximately 1,340 inhabitants. Almost everyone had his farm and a ship with supplies arriving from the mainland every 6 months or more.

Now however, there are about 30,000 people and over 170,000 tourists arriving each year.

Life of the Galapagos Islands and the arrival of introduced species.

	DEVASTATING EFFECTS » The impact of goats in Galapagos Without a sustained effort of eradication and constant monitoring, the impact of goats on the Galapagos ecosystem would be devastating.

The prior introduction of many species was intentional, to support agricultural and livestock production. However, some of them spread out of control and become pests such as fruit trees (passion fruit, guava...), wood (Cedrela) and medical (cascarilla). Ornamental garden plants, such as lantana (Lantana camara) pose about 60% of the species of introduced plants in Galapagos.

Many animals brought in to help man such as cows, donkeys, horses, dogs and cats have become feral, spreading across several islands and reproducing in stable or growing populations, displacing native flora and fauna, and endangering the survival of several Galapagos species, emblematic and unique in the world. Among the most damaging vertebrate are goats, pigs, cattle, donkeys, cats, dogs and rodents.

	The Bigheaded ant is a plague on other archipelagos, attacking newborn animals, like this chick on the Kure Atoll in Hawaii.

Many other species, such as ants, came as unwanted guests. Up till 2008, researchers have found more than 1488 species introduced in comparison to 112 recorded in 1900. Among these species are 888 plants, 490 species of insects and 53 species of invertebrates.

Today, the opening of entry points to the islands and the increasing flow of goods and people to the islands (and between islands), pose the greatest threat to the integrity of ecosystems in Galapagos.

How do introduced species arrive in Galapagos?

The only forms of entry for plants and animals are by ship or plane.

Once on the islands, the species are dispersed by boat or aircraft.

The insects arrive on airplanes, cargo ships, tour boats and private yachts. Due to their small size, they are not easily detected and controlled.

Reptiles, amphibians, rats, pets and terrestrial invertebrates can live aboard ships and arrive along with ornamental plants and flowers. The moth and other insects are attracted by the lights of the ships and travel from the mainland and then from one island to another.

In the past 20 years two species of wasp have arrived, both predatory and voracious. They probably arrived in cargo shipments of bananas and spread through the archipelago on fishing boats, cargo planes and boats. Two species of fire ants have nested on the islands since the early twentieth century.

Every year, more flights are needed to serve the large resident population and tourism. The number of flights doubled from 2001 to 2006. Each year demand increases. Tourism and the resident population, both need more cargo ships, for which, in 2007, 85 trips to the islands were made.

The large number of flights and cargo trips makes it more difficult to maintain the ecological barrier between the Galapagos and the mainland. In the majority of cases, once a new species arrives and establishes itself, it is very difficult to control.

Today, the majority of new species arrive with organic products imported from mainland Ecuador.

With the increasing population in the islands, the need for goods and services increases as well as the dependence of the islands on the mainland, because of the products they bring.

Because local production cannot suffice for so many people, there is a shortage of production. "Where two eat, eat three but where 1,340 eat (the population of Galapagos in early 1950), do not eat 30,000."

Many farmers find it more profitable to engage in tourism, fisheries or business and so have left the land, propagating the spread of invasive species.

The worst is that this is a vicious circle. If agricultural production decreases, and farms are invaded by pests, more food must be brought from the continent. As such more introduced species arrive and these continue to affect crops and farms.

In 2008, the Inspection and Quarantine System for Galapagos confiscated more than 2,700 products infested with introduced species from aircraft cargo and baggage. A study on the effectiveness of the Inspection and Quarantine System for Galapagos, estimated that officials intercept 1-in-8000 infested products that reach the Galapagos.
However, not all introduced species are invasive. For example, there are harmless introduced plants such as onions, carrots and potatoes, which are used only in crops but do not become pests. However, guava, blackberry, vertebrates and insects like the Mediterranean fruit fly or fire ants have become pests in the Galapagos.

Which is why AGROCALIDAD-SICGAL has a list of organic products allowed entry, restricted and prohibited by the product's risk level in introducing new species, ease of seed dispersal and whether they are carriers of pests and diseases, and general rules for transporting goods to the islands. For example, products must be clean, soil free and free from insects and living organisms.

¿How is the arrival and dispersion of species preventable?

The Inspection and Quarantine System for Galapagos (SICGAL), together with the national agency AGROCALIDAD are responsible for conducting inspections and fumigation of ships and aircraft entering the Galapagos. They also perform the inspection of baggage and cargo between islands.

The level of success of this work is directly proportional to the human and logistical resources used to do so. Unfortunately, over the past ten years, while traffic to the islands and local people have continued to increase rapidly, resources for inspecting cargo, baggage, aircraft and ships decreased by 20%.

Today, we work to reverse this situation.

¿What happens when a new introduced species is detected?

Several institutions, including the Directorate of the Galapagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Foundation, are trained to recognize a new species in Galapagos. However, their detection usually occurs when there has been a significant expansion of the species, so the collaboration of all institutions and the community is invaluable.

Often, as in the case of fruit flies, even early detection does not guarantee that the expansion to other islands is not possible.

When a new species is detected, a control and eradication program which meets the scientific and logistic capabilities of various institutions is sets up for their eradication.

In some cases, such as ants or introduced plants, eradication is no longer possible, so we talk about total control of these species with indefinite Management Programs designed to prevent further damage to natural ecosystems.

In populated areas, the Inter-institutional Committee for the Management and Control of Introduced Species (CIMEI) of the Municipalities are responsible for carrying out pest control measures such as for insects or rodents, and control of pets (dogs and cats being the only Galapagos animals considered pets) and farm animals and poultry.