Every human activity generates waste. Some of them are near populated areas, while others travel hundreds or thousands of oceanic miles to end up on distant shores.

On International Coastal Cleanup Day more than 200 volunteers and local and foreign institutions get involved in coordination with the Directorate of the Galapagos National Park such as the Municipality of Santa Cruz, the Port Captaincy, local authorities, dive centers and foundations in collecting waste on beaches, shores and bottoms of the islands of the archipelago.

	Gunner Group volunteers participate in the cleanup of a mangrove in Santa Cruz.

Moreover, the Directorate of the Galapagos National Park, since 1999, has developed, with the support of Fundacion Galapagos, a coastal and underwater cleanup program with the participation of members and fishing boats of the artisanal fishing sector in the Galapagos, which has allowed for a large number of coastal cleaning cruises, the results have been beneficial for the conservation of the environment.

Between 2000 and 2008 a total of 272 trips have been conducted in which underwater cleaning is also performed in the deep coasts of the Baltra and Santa Cruz islands (Bay Academy and the Itabaca Canal).

29 trips have been funded by Fundación Galapagos in the 3 ports of the Province with volunteers on board (average attendance of 3 per boat and 1 per fiberglass boat).

	Waste collected during an underwater cleanup.

Volunteers who have participated in various trips have been recruited into the ports of the inhabited islands in Galapagos were mostly foreigners who have previously known about the program in their countries of origin; as the GUNNER GROUP (group of volunteers from a U.S. University) and a community member (Miguel Castro) who have done the work on their own without lucrative intentions.

These campaigns are very important given the impact of litter on local wildlife, particularly plastic bags, with food, have caused the death of hundreds of species.

Results

This program has counted on the support of:

Galapagos Foundation is an organization for environmental sustainability created by Metropolitan Touring Galapagos

Araucaria XXI is the Program for the environmental sustainability of human development in Latin America of the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation Development (SAICD).