Isabela eps:Layout 1 - Advanced Conservation Strategies

THE PROJECT ISABELA
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Foreword from Project Leaders
“The necessity to conserve Galapagos, Natural World Heritage” “The PI restoration plan called for helicopters to be used as shooting
platforms, species-specific trained dogs, high quality hunters
and Judas goats, and was budgeted at $8.5 million”
Felipe Cruz, Charles Darwin Foundation, Co-Director of Project Isabela
The development and successful expansion of our species has produced the secondary effect of causing the extinction of
hundreds of species, an extinction which has been unnaturally rapid. All modern vertebrate extinctions have probably
been caused by man. On oceanic islands the situation is particularly delicate. These sites represent only 7% of the earth’s
surface, and less than 10% of bird species are present on islands, but more than 80% of the birds which have gone extinct
were island forms. Of the 396 species of birds cited by IUCN as threatened, 236 (60%) are island endemics.
There are three principle causes which explain this catastrophic phenomenon 1) hunting and/or over exploitation (as in
the case of the land tortoises); 2) the impact of introduced species and 3) habitat destruction.
The rate of extinctions keeps speeding up. In conservation biology one no longer talks about avoiding the extinction of
species, but now it is a discussion as to which species can be saved. We are rather like a collective Noah, deciding with
a biblical coldness which life forms will be able to accompany us on our new journey in the Ark. The world state
continues to get worse, but in Galapagos we still have the opportunity to reverse this trend because the human presence
is fairly recent; because the impacts of the invasive species are reversible; because here we still maintain 95% of the
native and endemic biodiversity; and, because of geographical isolation, we can help to protect the area with strict
processes which make the arrival of new invasive species more difficult.
Throughout the world many plant and animal species are at a level of threat which has not been registered at any
previous moment in history. It is therefore not at all surprising that protection of the biodiversity is one of the biggest
priorities for conservation on a world level. In this context Project Isabela is an example of restoration of ecosystems on
a scale never carried out before. Until now, the conservation world thought it impossible to work on this scale. We have
achieved, in record time, the reversal of the degradation processes that were occurring on Isabela and Santiago,
improving by 60% the conservation status of the native and endemic species of Galapagos. Through the combining of
effort and knowledge and with the strengthening of local capacities, we consider that this is pioneer work and we are
sure that the possibilities of replicating it will be of help on a world scale.
We can not afford to lose even one species of our world heritage without in some manner impoverishing our society and
that of future generations. Probably the experts in conservation do agree that Project Isabela achieved the recovery of the
habitat and the protection of the species in these areas, on a scale never attempted before, through an initiative which
combined previous experiences and developed new forms of confronting problems. Even though the initial costs may
have seemed high, the final benefits are greater than the investment.
Our world heritage is not an acquired right, but an undeniable inheritance for future generations.
Victor Carrion, Galapagos National Park, Co-Director of Project Isabela, (Responsible for the Area of
Control and Eradication of Introduced Species in GNP).
The Galapagos Islands are located approximately 1,000 kms from the continent, and were formed by volcanic eruptions.
They have a land surface of 7,970 km 2 and a Marine Reserve of approximately 138,000 km 2 , and maintain an important
level of biological diversity and endemism. Of all the species identified in Galapagos (more than 5,000) about 1,900 are
endemic and 74 are threatened. The animal species most representative of the islands are the Darwin finches, the Galapagos
penguin, the flightless cormorant, giant tortoises, marine and terrestrial iguanas and amongst the plants, the Scalesia and
Miconia. 95% of the original biodiversity has still been maintained. The extinctions of mammals (various species of endemic
rice rats) which have occurred have been due principally to the effects of species (such as the black rat) introduced by man.
Of the land surface, more than 96% is protected by the State, and this was declared a National Park in 1959. In 1978 the
Park was included in the list of World Heritage Sites of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization); in 1984 it became part of the network of the World Biosphere Reserves in the UNESCO program, Man and
the Biosphere and in 1998 UNESCO declared the Marine Reserve of Galapagos as a protected area and World Heritage Site.
This Reserve covers all the interior waters as well as extending to 40 miles around the islands measured from the most extreme
points (base line).
The arrival of man in Galapagos provoked the beginning of the progressive deterioration of the natural environment of the
islands, particularly because of the deliberate introduction of species of plants and animals for subsistence farming in these
“inhospitable” islands. The surroundings which these species found on their arrival was such that they could colonize in an
accelerated manner, escaping man’s control and becoming from then on, one of the worst threats to the island ecosystems.
The efforts which are now necessary to reverse these impacts keep increasing. In some cases the future is very bright but in
others it is very uncertain as we still do not have mechanisms and techniques to cause the drastic reductions necessary in the
populations of invasive species such as rats, cats, anis, and the plants such as blackberry, guava, cinchona and a host of
invertebrate species.
This Document; Karl Campbell, Christian Lavoie & PI Team
The Project
The Project Isabela Atlas is an illustrative document that provides a step-by-step overview of Project Isabela’s activities and
achievements. The primary role of this Atlas is to provide a visual and easy-to-read outline of the strategy, methods, results
and magnitude of the eradication challenges.
Managing a large intensive project with different methods being employed sequentially and others simultaneously was
facilitated by a geographical information system (GIS), a system that was designed and implemented for managing most of
the spatial data. This, along with a database for managing effort and kill data allowed information to be accessed in a timely
manner by managers in the field, while also forming the basis for further analyses and publications. The Atlas shows many of
the visual tools used by managers and hunters on a daily basis to facilitate their activities. These tools increased the efficacy
of the project and dramatically improved our ability to achieve concrete results.
The Atlas’s intended audience is broad, from the general public to conservation practitioners and eradication specialists.
Many of the examples included here on how we conducted various aspects of our work will not be presented visually in any
other publication. We’ve tried to make this document short and easy reading, informative, attractive and interesting. We hope
that by the time you turn the last page you will feel as excited about restoring islands as we are.
PI Background
Eliecer Cruz and Robert Bensted-Smith, directors of the Galapagos National Park Service (GNPS) and the Charles Darwin
Foundation (CDF) conceived Project Isabela as a bi-institutional initiative. Linda Cayot, then head of Vertebrates at the CDF
became the first bi-institutional leader of the Project. With this new position, Linda also inherited the ongoing Santiago pig
eradication project. In 1996 Brian Bell visited from New Zealand and put together a proposal for eradicating goats from northern
Isabela. Shocked by the $5 million price-tag, it was thought wise to invest in a more complete revision and bring in a range of
world renowned experts to develop a restoration plan. In September 1997, sixteen experts attended a workshop in Galapagos
and drafted a plan. The plan called for helicopters to be used as shooting platforms, specialist dogs, high quality hunters and
Judas goats, and was budgeted at $8.5 million. The underlying philosophy was to bring all the best methods, techniques and
tools from around the world into one project. We invested time and money into improving methods and tools that were not
efficient or yet being applied. Improvements in Judas goat methods and the application of GIS to facilitate management are
prime examples. Less than a year after the workshop Linda left the Galapagos; Marc Patry and Felipe Cruz took over and Karl
Campbell came in as volunteer for his second tour. Two years later, as Marc left, Felipe along with Victor Carrion became heads
of PI, while Karl became field operations manager and Christian Lavoie joined the team as the GIS specialist.
Santiago Pig Eradication
Pigs raided giant tortoise and sea turtle nests, preyed upon Galapagos rails and their eggs and altered vegetation for over 150
years on Santiago. A revised campaign utilizing systematic hunting of zones by hunters and dogs and the strategic use of
toxic baits ended a 30 year campaign. The last pig was removed in November 2000. In total, over 18,000 pigs were removed
during the campaign. Santiago is the largest island in the world where feral pigs have been eradicated, the second largest
island is only about half its size. Today, turtle and tortoise eggs and hatchlings, nesting seabirds such as Galapagos petrels,
and many plant species suffer no pig predation. Galapagos rails have dramatically increased in numbers, with Santiago now
being the strong-hold for this charismatic endemic species (read about the Galapagos Rail on page 57).
Pinta Goat Eradication
Within the plan to eradicate goats from Isabela was a trial to gain experience in the Judas goat method while eradicating
goats from Pinta Island. Judas goats (JG) are goats that are captured, fitted with radio telemetry collars and released. As goats
are gregarious, JG´s search out and associate with other goats. They can then be tracked down and any associated feral goats
can be removed. This method is used when goats are at very low densities, increasing the efficiency with which feral goats
can be detected by reducing search time.
Goats were introduced to Pinta in the 1950s and by the 1970s had devastated the island’s native vegetation. Goats were
removed from Pinta Island after a 30-year eradication campaign, the largest removal of an insular goat population using
ground-based methods. Over 41,000 goats were removed during the initial hunting effort (1971–82). In the following decade
the island was twice wrongly declared free of goats. During this period, the island was visited irregularly but no monitoring
program was implemented. A revised campaign over 1999–2003, which included improved hunting techniques, Judas goats
and monitoring, removed the final goats from the island.
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THE PROJECT ISABELA