Cruise Ships: Waste Water and Invasive Species Control in Galapagos

This report examines the environmental policies concerning cruise ships in the Galapagos Islands, focusing on waste water management and invasive species control. The Galapagos Islands, a popular tourist destination, face environmental challenges from cruise ship activities, including water pollution and the introduction of invasive species. To mitigate these issues, Ecuador has implemented regulations mandating waste recycling, energy conservation, and the establishment of a Marine Protected Area (MPA). The MPA restricts waste disposal and requires sewage treatment. The report also addresses the challenges of implementing these policies, such as political instability and social resistance, and suggests solutions like sustainable development and public awareness campaigns. The report highlights the importance of prioritizing marine life conservation over tourist convenience while recognizing the potential of such measures to educate tourists on environmental conservation.

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY: CRUISE SHIPS – WASTE WATER AND INVASIVE
SPECIES CONTROL (GALAPAGOS ISLANDS)

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY: CRUISE SHIPS – WASTE WATER AND INVASIVE
SPECIES CONTROL (GALAPAGOS ISLANDS)
Tourism represents an ever growing leisure industry with significant monetary (for
service providers) and non-monetary (for clients) gains. However, tourism has also been
associated with environmental degradation. In order to balance the gains of tourism and the
conservation of the environment, tourism has to be practiced in a sustainable way (United
Nations, 2016). Cruise tourism exposes marine life to environmental pollution through water
pollution. The waste produced by cruise ships is often discharged into the oceans, resulting into
pollution and disruption of the marine life.
To ensure sustainable tourism, the Cruise ships to the islands of Galapagos in Ecuador
take measures that include the recycling of waste produced on the ships either onboard or at ports
(Conlin, 2009). The waste here includes sewage, plastics, oil bilge and gray water. The local
authority has also made energy conservation mandatory for tour providers in the islands. Energy
conservation measures include using electric powering at ports and switching to the use of low-
sulfur diesel fuel for cruise ships, and use of renewable energy sources for other tour providers
(Galapagos Conservancy, 2010).
Ecuador has a law that established the Marine Protected Area (MPA) for the islands of
Galapagos (National Geographic, 2010). This law designated an area 51352 square miles around
the islands of Galapagos, 600 miles from the coast of mainland Ecuador, as a Marine Protected
Area (MPA). This designation created different criteria for cruise ships touring the islands as
opposed to when they are on open sea (international waters and other parts of the sea). Waste
disposal is banned within the Marine Protected Area (MPA). It also makes it necessary for the
cruise ships touring the islands to have complied with treatment of waste sewage before disposal
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ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY: CRUISE SHIPS – WASTE WATER AND INVASIVE
SPECIES CONTROL (GALAPAGOS ISLANDS)
in addition to the waste disposal being banned within the Marine Protected Area (MPA) (Conlin,
2009).
Ecuador also has legislation that protects the Galapagos islands from invasive species.
This legislation concerns the introduction of invasive species through sea and air. So as to
prevent invasive species being introduced through the sea, all vessels travelling to the Galapagos
islands are required to make a stop at a mainland port for quarantine before being allowed to
proceed to the islands (New Scientist, 2010). The same is applied for planes heading to the
islands, the interior of the planes are fumigated to prevent any invasive species from getting to
the island (New Scientist, 2010).
The implementation of legislations on conservation of marine life in the Galapagos
islands has been faced by a number of hurdles. Political instability in Ecuador often spill over to
the islands, hindering administration and governance (Peter, 2012). This thus means that the
implementation is equally hindered. Socially, the introduction of regulations and rules that did
not previously exist in the islands has disrupted the normal way of life of the inhabitants. This
proves to be a challenge when the inhabitants refuse to change their ways of life. In terms of
economics, the legislation generally slows down the inflow of tourists into the islands, thereby
reduces the income from tourism for the government (Epler, 2012).
The Ecuador government should aim at solving issues relating to political instability by
addressing the causes of the instability. This will ensure no political interference with the
implementation of the conservation legislations. To counter the social misunderstanding of the
conservation programs, campaigns need to be launched in the islands to inform the locals on
their importance. Sustainable development should be adopted as a template to maintain a
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ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY: CRUISE SHIPS – WASTE WATER AND INVASIVE
SPECIES CONTROL (GALAPAGOS ISLANDS)
profitable balance between economic activities and conservation of the environment (Black,
2013). This will help in overcoming the economic hurdles to implementation of the conservation
legislations in the islands.
One of Ecuador’s law on managing invasive species requires that every vessel travelling
to the Galapagos islands has to undergo quarantine at a mainland port before proceeding to the
islands. This measure increases the waiting time for tourists to access the islands and may put off
tourists from cruising through the islands. However, it is also important to understand that
without these measures, the islands would not be worth touring. As such, conserving the marine
life of the islands should take priority over convenience of visiting tourists. In addition, such
measures help in giving the tourists an experience of environment conservation and could be
used as an opportunity to inform on the importance of conservation of the marine life in the
islands.
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ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY: CRUISE SHIPS – WASTE WATER AND INVASIVE
SPECIES CONTROL (GALAPAGOS ISLANDS)
References
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https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/travel/15green.html?_r=0
Epler, B. (2012, January 21). Tourism Report. Retrieved from Galapagos Conservancy:
https://www.galapagos.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/TourismReport1.pdf
Galapagos Conservancy. (2010, April 16). Sustainable Tourism in Galapagos. Retrieved from
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National Geographic. (2010, January 29). news. Retrieved from National Geographic:
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/news/case-study-galapagos-marine-reserve/
New Scientist. (2010, July 30). Earth. Retrieved from New Scientist:
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danger/
Peter, J. J. (2012). A Governance Analysis of the Galapagos Marine Reserve. Marine Policy, 65-
71. Retrieved from http://www.homepages.ucl.ac.uk/~ucfwpej/pdf/MPAGGMR.pdf
United Nations. (2016, June 12). Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved from United
Nations: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/
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