Coastal and marine area management in the Galápagos islands

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Abstract
The Galápagos Islands have long been the object of worldwide scientific interest. Increased demands on coastal and marine resources there, to serve a growing resident population and to accommodate potentially expanded tourism, signal a need for greater attention to the management of these resources. The paper provides a brief overview of the challenges facing integrated coastal and marine area management in the Galápagos Islands of Ecuador, describes a cooperative project between the government of Ecuador and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to devise concepts for improved management of the archipelago's coastal and marine resources, and reports on the findings of that study. The basic elements of a CZM and MRM system are already in place in the Galápagos, but they are uncoordinated and largely ad hoc in nature. A two‐zone management scheme for coastal and marine resources, proposed by Knecht (1984) is outlined. It avoids the establishment of complicated new systems of boundaries and institutions, instead adapting itself to the existing situation. Future directions for the cooperative research by Woods Hole and the government of Ecuador are indicated.