Since April of 2007, Sea Shepherd Galapagos (SSG) Teams have been investigating the political corruption and environmental crimes surrounding Isabela, which has seen the devastation of wetlands vital to the overall ecosystem and unique wildlife that call mangroves their home. We are calling this project Operation Mangrove.

(Report by Sea Shepherd Galapagos Director of Operations Sean O'Hearn-Gimenez)

The mayor of Isabela, Pablo Gordillo Gil,  has been sanctioned with six environmental crimes; this time for the cutting of mangroves (White Mangrove or Laguncularia Racemosa) which are inhabited by a wide array of endemic (unique) species to the Galapagos.

SSG believes these are serious environmental crimes on all levels and warrant a deeper investigation in order to uncover the facts and details surrounding this mayor's actions. The SSG Teams met several times to strategize and organize an investigative field trip to Isabela. We started out with a trip to Isabela for five days on April 20th, 2007.

April 20th through 25th, 2007, Sea Shepherd Galapagos trip to Isabela

Sea Shepherd Galapagos Team:
Sean O'Hearn-Gimenez:  SSG Director of Operations
Lenyn Betamcourt:   SSG Biologist
Hans Rivadeneira:  SSG Videographer and A/V Specialist
Michelle Castro:     SSG Communications

History of the Mangroves

In the Galapagos Islands there are urban and rural zones with clear markings which separate these colonized zones from protected areas considered national park areas. Historically, there has been great pressure from the local community to occupy mangrove areas in these urban zones, and subsequently, in 2001, the Galapagos National Park (GNP) and the Municipality of Isabela entered into an agreement to exchange 22 hectares of lava field north of the town of Puerto Villamil in the national park zone for 11 hectares of mangrove and lagoon areas that were under the jurisdiction of the municipality. The idea was to preserve wetland areas which are of great concern to the biodiversity of the overall Galapagos Islands ecosystem.

Prior to this, in July 1999, the municipality of Isabela, authorized the declaration of wetlands as a Municipal Ecological Reserve. This declaration states that no type of construction can be performed within this area and makes it protected according to city laws. Nationally, environmental laws state that "all mangroves, even those located within private property, are considered federal land and cannot be commercialized, are not susceptible to appropriations and can only be exploited through special permission as authorized by law." Based on these laws, all mangroves under municipal jurisdiction are considered federal land, a protected forest and as such cannot be cut or destroyed by the municipality or any other person, regardless of whether they are located in urban areas or within private property.

In September 2001, the mayor of Isabela signed an Ordinance of Protection for Mangrove Forests in Urban Zones of the port of Puerto Villamil on the island of Isabela. This ordinance states that:

1. Industrial use of mangrove forests is prohibited, as is the extraction of forest resources

2. Within areas designated as mangroves, the construction of houses, installation of factories and infrastructure as well as activities that produce toxic waste that might put in danger the ecosystem and its biodiversity is strictly prohibited

This ordinance also imposes sanctions upon those who violate this disposition, including seizure of any products or materials used to destroy mangroves, fines, and possibly criminal and civil prosecution leading up to three years of imprisonment.

Also in September 2001, the government of Ecuador included all wetlands in South Isabela as a RAMSAR site of International Importance, in which the government commits to the conservation and rational use of these wetlands. The mangroves destroyed by the mayor of Isabela are within the boundaries designated as a RAMSAR site.

In November 2001, Mayor Gil signs an agreement of commitment between the municipality and the National Park, with the ambassador to Spain as witness of honor, in which makes reference to the Ordinance of Protection for Mangrove Forests in Urban Zones sited above. In this document, the municipality of Isabela agrees to give the National Park areas containing mangroves including Las Pozas, Puerta del Jeli, and Baltazar in exchange for flattened national park areas of lava.

Mangroves Under Attack

On the morning of March 21st, 2007 employees of the municipality of Isabela armed with chainsaws completely cut and destroyed 80- to 90-year-old mangroves in the area known as El Embarcadero, without ever notifying park rangers or the port authorities. When confronted by the park rangers who were stating that he was committing an environmental crime, Mayor Gil responded that this was within urban boundaries, that he was responsible for these actions, that they would have to take him to court, and that he "could give two shits about it."

A fisherman of Isabela videotaped the destruction of the mangroves and the aforementioned statements by the mayor of Isabela. Present at the scene, and seen on videotape, were officers of the Ecuadorian Navy and the Environmental Police attempting to talk to the mayor but clearly confused about whether or not the mayor had jurisdiction. To make matters worse, the municipality dumped truckloads of debris and sand over the devastated wetlands destroying an ecosystem that took millions of years to form.

Weeks following this crime, the mayor flees Isabela to Quito and on Isabela TV he leaves a videotaped interview stating that he was only cleaning a garbage dump and that he would be constructing a new dock for Isabela with funds approved by the National Bank. He also lashes out at the GNP justifying his actions by stating that they too have destroyed mangroves in the past and who was going to put them on trial. His misinformation continues through comments on the radio stating that the GNP is against the construction of a new dock that is beneficial to the entire community and that he is being persecuted for "cutting down only three little trees." The actual area cleared was over 35 square meters and the video tape shows truckloads of mangroves being hauled away.

Gathering Evidence

In our investigation, we also were curious about the mayor's claims that the GNP had devastated mangroves in the past, although we were aware that even if this turned out to be true, it does not justify committing a crime. One of the mayor's claims was that the GNP devastated mangroves in the construction of the trail known as Concho de Perl. What we encountered was evidence to the contrary. In the mayor's video, he shows mangroves that were clearly cut using chainsaw.

The SSG Investigative Team conducted an extensive interview with Juan Chavez, Director of the GNP in Isabela which included a visit to this trail. Our investigation led to the following conclusions:

Prior to the construction of any wetlands trails in Isabela, the GNP performed an environmental impact study in collaboration with the University of San Francisco in Quito, as well as renown environmental science institutions in Ecuador such as ECOLAP and ECOCIENCIA. They established various parameters and guidelines in order to minimize or avoid entirely any ecological damage. In fact, the trails were financed by United States Agency of International Development (USAID) which required U.S. experts to come and perform environmental impact studies which were taken into account prior to the construction. Not one single tree was cut, instead only branches were trimmed where necessary following an environmental study matrix to ensure no long-term damage. Anybody who walks the Concho de Perl trail will experience constant bending over to avoid mangrove branches, and some were even held by Y branches in order to allow passage as opposed to being cut. The trail was actually constructed by hand, no heavy machinery, and refills were not used in order to allow free passage of the water below. Absolutely no chemical products were used to treat the wood and the wood used was from pine and eucalyptus trees imported from cultivated forests in mainland Ecuador (as opposed to using wood from protected forests or the Amazon Rainforest).

Ecological Assessment

The mangroves in the Galapagos Islands have a very slow growth and actually reach a size smaller than those on mainland Ecuador, given the fact that they develop from within lava flows which have very few nutrients and allow little penetration through its roots. As a result, the Galapagos mangroves are unique since it takes thousands of years to form the ecosystem which can support mangrove growth.

It is possible to calculate the approximate age of mangrove trees by counting the concentric rings contained within the bark. Many of the trees can be calculated to have over a century of existence, making it impossible to recover, within our generation, a mangrove tree which has been destroyed.

The leaves that decompose under the mangroves produce rich nutrients for the entire ecosystem but require oxygen. Thus, when the mayor refilled the land with debris and sand, he completely wiped out a 1,000-year-old ecosystem - forever. The white mangrove in that area might have recovered over the next century but their fate was sealed the moment they were buried.

The white mangrove requires water to develop and in the process of refilling the area with debris and sand restricts the capability of reforesting the area with mangroves since this mangrove could not grow in non humid volcanic areas.

Endemic (unique) species to this archipelago exist within these mangroves such as Galapagos violin crab, which only exist in the mangrove environment unique to the Galapagos. The Galapagos violin crab form small holes over the soil that has developed over the lava flows. The act of covering this soil with debris and sand will completely drive this species to extinction.

An endemic population of Galapagos Penguins lives in Villamil bay and depends highly on the marine reserve including the surrounding mangroves. These penguins are considered critically endangered and highly susceptible to alterations to the marine ecosystem. Puerto Villamil, sight of the recent mangrove destruction, is the only tropical town on the planet to contain penguins.

The biodiversity unique to the Galapagos archipelago depends highly on mangroves. In essence, the destruction of mangroves will destroy this unique biodiversity, which in turn, will also destroy any ecotourism, thus destroying the future of Isabela as a destination for ecological tourism.

Political Considerations

The convention on wetlands, an intergovernmental treaty, signed in 1971 in Ramsar, Iran, provides a framework for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources (http://ramsar.org). There are special criteria when considering wetlands for RAMSAR designation, and the region of South Isabela meets these criteria in large part due to the many endemic species that live within these wetlands including Galapagos penguins, finches, flamencos, etc.

The wetlands region of South Isabela was RAMSAR certified on September 17th, 2002, establishing the fact that the government of Ecuador would now have a responsibility to protect the wetlands of Isabela due to its designation as a RAMSAR site as well as being a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site.

This devastation could have been avoided if the municipality of Isabela had analyzed the legal boundaries protecting mangroves on national and international levels. A simple dialogue between the GNP and port authorities about the construction of the dock, including an environmental impact study by experts in wetland areas, would have facilitated a construction sustainable to the surrounding environment.

SSG believes it is essential to establish clear authority and jurisdiction of each of the institutions within the Galapagos Islands, so as to avoid future occurrences of this type of conflict and devastation to the environment and future generations.

Source: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society