Ecuador says Galapagos Islands at risk
A giant turtle on Santa Cruz Island, part of the Galapagos Islands.
Ecuador has declared the world-famous Galapagos Islands at risk and may suspend tourism permits to protect the archipelago that helped Charles Darwin develop his theory of evolution.
The South American country may also enforce rigorous population restrictions to prevent further environmental harm.
"We are pushing for a series of actions to overcome the huge institutional, environmental and social crisis in the islands," President Rafael Correa said after signing an emergency decree for the area.
The move came as a delegation from the United Nations made a visit to determine if the islands should be declared "in danger".
The islands, famous for the incredible array of wildlife they support, are Ecuador's major tourist attraction and thousands of visitors flock there each year.
But tourism, a growing population, illegal fishing, and internal bickering over the national park have taken a toll.
Centenarian tortoises and blue-footed boobies live alongside 18,000 islanders who earn a living from fishing and a growing tourism industry.
About 15,000 people are believed to live illegally in the islands, government officials said.
Correa was tight-lipped on possible restrictions on Wednesday but he did say his Government would consider suspending some tourism permits for the islands, 1000 kilometres west of Ecuador's coast.
Environmentalists agreed that stronger protections were necessary.
"The Government needs to be stricter on what is allowed there as pressure on Galapagos grows," Martin Wikelski, a biologist at Princeton University, said.
"It is one of the world's most unique ecosystems ... and continues to be one of the most important laboratories for evolution studies."
The British naturalist Darwin spent time on the islands in the 1830s, as he completed a five-year journey with a scientific expedition aboard the HMS Beagle.
He closely studied plants and animals on the islands, and observed there were many variations among the same general type as those he had seen in South America.
After his return to London, he slowly developed his theory that the vast array of species that exist evolved from a single original life form, adapted over millions and millions of years.
His theories transformed scientific thinking about biology and caused widespread division as they challenged the church's assertion that all living things were God's creations.