Ecuadorian court votes in favour of Galapagos Marine Reserve

Posted on September, 20 2001

Ecuador's Constitutional Court this week upheld by a vote of eight votes in favour and one abstention, the Galapagos Special Law, representing an important achievement in the continued efforts to protect the Galapagos Islands.

QUITO, Ecuador - Ecuador's Constitutional Court this week upheld by a vote of eight votes in favour and one abstention, the Galapagos Special Law, representing an important achievement in the continued efforts to protect the Galapagos Islands.

The decision came after a public inquiry was held in response to a lawsuit brought by the Association of Industrial Tuna Fishermen (ATUNEC), which challenged the Special Law's constitutionality. Since its approval in March 1998, the Galapagos Special Law which established the Galapagos Marine Reserve has faced continued attacks, primarily from the industrial fishing sector based in mainland Ecuador, which seeks fishing rights inside the reserve. The reserve covers an area of 133,000 square kilometers with a boundary of 40 nautical miles from the baseline around the islands. The Law granted exclusive fishing rights in the reserve to traditional fishermen.

The Galapagos Group of the Ecuadorian Committee for the Protection of Nature and the Environment (CEDENMA), which gathers all Ecuadorian environmental NGOs, has played a major role in resisting attempts to revise or challenge the Special Law's constitutionality. CEDENMA was created to provide technical assistance and support to conservation efforts in Galapagos and has worked jointly with the World Conservation Union (IUCN), TRAFFIC (the wildlife trade monitoring arm of IUCN and WWF) and the Galapagos Coalition. Created over six years ago, the Galapagos Coalition consists of national and international environmental NGOs, including WWF, The Nature Conservancy, Fundacion Natura and the Charles Darwin Foundation. The Coalition also has within it prominent individuals interested in the conservation of Galapagos.

The Galapagos Group and the Galapagos Coalition praised the ruling and said "the decision adopted by the Constitutional Court in favour of the Galapagos Special Law demonstrates the commitment of the Executive and Legislative Powers of Ecuador to protect and preserve the Galapagos Islands. It also represents an example of the multiple actions that Ecuador is implementing to maintain this unique ecosystem for future generations."

For further information contact:

Irma Larrea, WWF-Galapagos Programme, Tel. [593 2] 25033-89 to 94, ext 309, Quito, Ecuador. E-mail: wwf-galapagos2@fnatura.org.ec