Galapagos invasive species:
Regional planning


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Planning the future: Advances in the drafting process of the new Galapagos National park management plan

Background

The New Management Plan (NMP) of the Galapagos National Park (GNP) is conceived as a strategic institutional process, dynamic, adaptive and progressive, which uses the plan document as a methodological tool to express the objectives, principles, directives and execution strategy of the management programmes. In summary, the NMP promotes: Island workshops
  1. A new conservation policy for the archipelago, based on the improvement of interdisciplinary scientific understanding of the Galapagos socio-ecosystem;
  2. Support for basic sustainable development in the rational use of goods and services generated by the marine and terrestrial ecosystems of the archipelago.
Within this vision, the NMP is perceived as both a process and a product, but never as an end in itself, the same attention being given to the product (the plan document) as to the participative process which has led to its production. As part of this process, a series of participative events have been carried out on two fronts:
  1. Within the GNP, the Technical Group of the NMP and Strategic Partners
  2. To the Galapagos community, with the aim of ensuring their commitment by a gradual process of involvement.
The technical group consists of technical staff responsible for processes or management units in the national park offices, together with the permanent advise of two scientists, one an expert in natural sciences (systems ecology) and the other in social sciences (regional geographical analysis and land use planning).

Strategic partners consist of representatives of regional and sectoral organisations which the Ministry of the Environment and Galapagos National Park consider crucial for the implementation of the NMP. This includes representatives of the Galapagos National Institute (INGALA), consortium of municipalities and the Charles Darwin Foundation.

The process consists of three ambitious sequential phases:

  1. Drafting the basic management plan document.
  2. Socialising the conceptual framework and management programmes;
  3. Validation of the plan.

Activities carried out

Sea lionBy the end of 2004 the following activities were carried out and their collective products comprise the core document: It should be noted that every document produced systematises and summarises the results of the debates which took place during the meetings of the technical group and strategic partners, with the intention of categorising, defining and prioritising the key points, such as the basic achievable objectives, together with the management programmes which are recognised as being necessary in order to conserve the natural capital of the islands.

Currently, the writing process of the new management plan is entering its final phase of socialisation and approval by the GNP Technical Council, the technical and planning committee of INGALA and, finally, the Ministry of the Environment. It is estimated, that according to the work programme, by January 2005 the GNP will have completed this management tool, which will guide the institutional steps for at least the next 10 years.

Source: Galapagos National Park.


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This website was created on 25 October 2004 by PT and JK