Tourism endangers World Heritage site
The Galapagos Islands, so important in the development of Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, and the first place to be declared a World Heritage site in 1978, is in danger of losing its status due to the damage being inflicted on it by tourism. There have been proposals to restrict tourist entry in order to try and halt the damage, and the UN has now declared it an endangered site.
The number of days spent by cruise ship passengers has grown by 150 percent over the past 15 years, and this increase has fueled a growth in immigration, inter-island traffic, and the introduction of more invasive species.
