Scientific research and the Galapagos marine resources reserve : synopsis of a workshop April 20-24, 1987 Guayaquil, Ecuador

Abstract

In 1986 the Government of Ecuador established the Galápagos Marine Resources Reserve encompassing the entire Galápagos Archipelago, an area embracing 70,00 square kilometers of the Pacific Ocean and its underlying seabed. A workshop, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, was held on April 20-24, 1987, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, to address the role of scientific information in planning for the management of this new Marine Reserve. The "Scientific Research and the Galápagos Marine Resources Reserve Workshop" was jointly coordinated by the Marine Policy Center of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the Oceanographic Institute of the Navy of Ecuador (Instituto Oceanografico de la Armada). Ten North American scholars and about thirty scholars from Ecuadorian governmental and non-governmental scientific organizations, concerned with issues related to the Galápagos, met to discuss the status of scientific information on marine areas surrounding these islands. The workshop also focused on the role this information should play in crafting a management plan that will, a) recognize and mesh with environmental realities of this complex oceanic setting, b) incorporate new scientific information as it becomes available, and c) accommodate the needs of scientists working in the remote, typically harsh and often unique setting the Archipelago provides the international academic community. Despite some important gaps, considerable scientific information is available to Reserve managers, and examples of the use of scientific information in other marine reserves is also available. Important areas of innovation are needed in order to gather and use information effectively for the management of this vast ocean area. Remote sensing technology and international cooperation offer promise in this regard.