**** 5International Herald Tribune | ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT | Fr i d ay , S e p te m b e r 12, 2008

SPOTLIGHT | In Ecuador, the first World Heritage site

The Galápagos Islands: Safeguarding an archipelago of 19 major islands and a marine reserve

DIVING | Discovering the deep

Close encounters with marine iguanas, eels and penguins

L ying in the Pacific, 1,000 kilometers (620 miles)from the South American continent, the Galápa-gos Islands were the first to be inscribed on Un-

esco’s World Heritage List in 1978. This archipelago of19 major islands and surrounding marine reserve arehome to a huge number of aquatic species; the marinereserve is the second largest on the World Heritage List,after the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

Perhaps because of their size and remote location,the Galápagos’ coastal waters are difficult to manage.Reports of illegal fishing have caused concern in recentyears. In addition, the population has quadrupled overthe past 20 years, bringing 30,000 persons to live on is-lands where residence is allowed. In 2006, 140,000tourists visited the archipelago. This has put pressure onthe environment and had a negative impact on localflora and fauna. Authorities try to minimize this impact— all tourists are supervised by licensed guides whenvisiting the islands, for example — but problems remain.Recently, scientists discovered a parasite in Galápagospenguins, which they fear might lead to avian malaria.

The parasite was probably introduced by insects, follow-ing the now-steady stream of humans to the islands.

Unesco’s World Heritage Convention provides aframework for action to reverse this situation, safe-guarding the world’s marine heritage by assisting gov-ernments with effective management of these sites.Marc Patry, Unesco’s program specialist for Latin Amer-ica and the Caribbean, says the UNbody plays a big part, but doesn’tact alone. ‘‘It’s not Unesco or theWorld Heritage site that solves theproblems,’’ he says. ‘‘Ecuador, towhich the Galápagos Islands belong,and the local communities solve them. And they shouldbe involved in finding solutions.’’

Patry recalls that local authorities, with financial sup-port from Unesco, helped define who is allowed to fish inthe Galápagos, how they can fish, what kind of boatsthey can use and how often they can use them. Today,all fishing in the Galápagos is regulated. Longline fishing,for example, is outlawed. Longline fishing uses as many

as 1,000 hooks, which indiscriminately catch not onlyfish, but also turtles, albatross, sharks and other anim-als. Boat sizes and their numbers are closely monitored.‘‘These regulations are being put in place to control pres-sure on the fishery resource,’’ Patry says. ‘‘It has set thefoundations for the sustainable management of a re-source important to local livelihoods.’’

These results weren’t achievedovernight. Unesco cannot bepresent on the ground, working onsolutions in all 878 World Heritagesites. It has to find partners to sup-port such efforts, and often relies on

governments or park authorities, with whom it developsgood working relationships to ensure that the concernsof the World Heritage Committee are addressed. ‘‘Ourwork always has to be approved by national authoritiesbecause in the end we report to them,’’ Patry says.

The World Heritage Convention, a global treaty de-signed to identify and protect the world’s most outstand-ing sites, is uniquely positioned to contribute toward

marine preservation. Unesco’s World Heritage Centrecan provide expertise and help raise funds to deal withonsite problems. Unesco’s global status boosts aware-ness of the sites’ importance, giving the worldwide com-munity reasons to come together and opportunities todemonstrate how to best tackle conservation issues.

An example is the Eastern Pacific Tropical Seascape,an initiative involving the Galápagos and neighboringmarine World Heritage sites belonging to Panama,Colombia and Costa Rica. When evidence suggestedthese sites might form a larger ecosystem in the easternPacific, Unesco helped finance the tagging of leatherb-ack turtles to test the hypothesis. ‘‘These are hugeturtles,’’ says Patry. ‘‘Hardly any are left in the Pacific. Wefit 40 with tags detectable by satellite and showed thatthey swim from Costa Rican beaches all the way to theGalápagos waters and back again. This proved there’ssome migratory process going on, that this whole area isone ecosystem. This helps the four countries work to-gether to devise management strategies ensuring thewaters are properly managed.’’ �

T he Galápagos archipelago, which de-rives its name from the Spanishgalápago for ‘‘saddle’’ and ‘‘turtle,’’

counts 19 major islands and many islets,rocks and reefs. The area is a diver’s delight.Unlike in many diving sites, however, the cor-al reefs are not the main attraction. The ar-chipelago’s big draw is the unique mix ofmarine animals and their fearlessness of in-truders. In the Galápagos, it is possible todive among sea turtles, eels, manta rays,penguins, sea lions, dolphins, hundreds ofspecies of tropical reef fish and numerousspecies of shark. There are few places inthe world where divers can encounter pen-guins and tropical fish during the same dive.Marine iguanas are found only in theGalápagos, and divers can also have closeencounters with whale sharks.

The islands are likewise home to 24 spe-cies of urchins, 600 molluscs and morethan 100 crabs. Nearly 10 percent of theGalápagos’ 300 species of fish are foundnowhere else on the planet.

Diving here is generally for the experi-enced. Although the islands are located onthe Equator, the water can be fairly cool.There are strong currents, and visibilityranges from five meters (16 feet) to 25 me-ters, so diving conditions in the Galápagosare not to be compared with those on trop-ical reefs.

Despite all this, the Galápagos Islandsremain a top spot for divers, who come tosee species they can’t observe anywhereelse. The islands’ biodiversity is a result oftheir geography. The archipelago is located

at the confluence of major ocean currents— a cold one coming from Antarctica (theHumboldt current), a warm one from thePanama Bight and another cold deepwaterupwelling from the west, rich in nutrients (theCromwell current). This results in a uniquemix of tropical and temperate marine envir-onments, which attracts and sustains a di-

versity of sea life seen in few other placeson the planet. Huge quantities of phyto-plankton, with more than 300 species of al-gae, are produced here, attracting animalsfrom all along the Pacific, and even from theIndian Ocean, to feed.

The variety of marine habitats — sandy,rocky, coral and muddy — and the largebody of water in the archipelago also con-tribute to its biodiversity.

Local tour operators say the best timefor diving is November to April, when seasare comparatively calm. In the cool season,from May to December, visitors have great-er chances of seeing whales in the northernand central islands. Hammerheads and oth-er sharks can be spotted throughout the ar-chipelago year-round, but they are found inlarger groups in the northern islands. FromDecember to May, the odds of seeing whalesharks drop, but visitors will find moremanta and eagle rays. Large schools of fish,sea turtles, sea lions, iguanas and penguinscan be found throughout the year.

The islands feature about 30 diving sites,offering a range of opportunities. These in-clude everything from two-hour beginnercourses to 15-day tours for practiced divers.Boat-based diving tours bring the most re-sults. Land-based diving tours, where diverstravel to specific sites, are also available.

At Caamaño Islet, divers encounterfriendly sea lions, tropical fish and marineiguanas. Diving sites outside Academy Bayare home to exotic fish, black coral, Galápa-gos sharks and dolphins, while Bartolomé isthe place for penguins. �

Why a Swiss luxury watchmaker wants to protect the sea

World Heritage sitesThe United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organizationworks with countries around theworld to identify and protectoutstanding sites that deserverecognition as part of humanity'scommon heritage. Unesco adoptedthe Convention Concerning theProtection of the World Culturaland Natural Heritage in 1972.Today, more than 850 natural andcultural sites have been approvedfor inscription on the WorldHeritage List. The GalápagosIslands were the first on the list.The World Heritage Committeeestablished the World HeritageMarine Program in 2005; today, 31World Heritage sites include marineareas. For more information, visithttp://whc.unesco.org

Darwin Island: In the Galápagos, mantas are often curious and fearlessly approach divers.

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Unesco’s World HeritageConvention provides aframework for action

Jaeger-LeCoultre’s participation inthe ‘‘Tides of Time’’ program is partof its global strategy to help reducethreats to the planet and raiseawareness of environmental issues.‘‘Tides of Time’’ is a three-yearpartnership among the Swiss luxurywatchmaker, Unesco’s WorldHeritage Centre and theInternational Herald Tribune toincrease public awareness andsupport conservation of WorldHeritage sites. In the comingmonths, the project will focus oneight World Heritage marine sites,ranging from the Galápagos Islandsin Ecuador to iSimangaliso WetlandPark in South Africa and UjungKulon National Park in Indonesia.

For a private company to beinvolved in public matters is naturalfor Jaeger-LeCoultre. Known for itswork in environmental protection in

the Joux Valley, where it has beenbased for 175 years, the companyhas initiated conservation projectsin the United States and Ethiopia.Speaking of the ‘‘Tides of Time’’project, Jérôme Lambert, thecompany’s chief executive, says:‘‘Water belongs to everybody. We’reall involved. At the end of the day,what’s important is the result —protecting the environment.’’

Jaeger-LeCoultre’s links with theunderwater world go back a longway — the manufacture patentedthe first waterproofing system for awatch case in 1911, and its firstdiving watches appeared 50 yearsago. At recent launches of its divingwatches, Jaeger-LeCoultre has seenat close hand the vulnerability ofdelicate marine ecosystems, fuelingits commitment to help protect thisprecious natural legacy.

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A Unesco World Heritage marine site,the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador havebeen threatened by overfishingand a population increase.New regulations have been put in placeto protect the islands’ resources

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MASTER COMPRESSOR DIVING PRO GEOGRAPHICWater-resistant to 300 metres (30 atm).

Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre,Vallée de Joux, Switzerland, since 1833.www.jaeger-lecoultre.com/dive