Puerto Ayora: Just as Charles Darwin did in 1831, a group of scientists and ecologists set sail from the British port of Plymouth last year for the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador.
But what they found when they arrived last month was very different from what naturalist Darwin saw when he visited the archipelago in 1835, key to developing his world-changing theory of natural selection.
The Galapagos Islands are now part of a marine reserve and a World Heritage Site. However, from pollution and illegal fishing to climate change, the region faces more threats than ever.
Botanist Sarah Darwin has a copy of her book On the Origin of Species to monitor the complications.
“I think the main difference is, you know, there are people working now to protect the islands,” he told the AFP news agency of more than 60, three-masted schooners with more than 100 built in the Oosterschelde. A few years ago.
Since August last year, the ship has been in the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Brazil and Chile, among other places, on scientific and awareness-raising expeditions.
During the colonial era, the islands, located in one of the most biodiverse areas of the world, served as a pit stop for pirates who caught and ate the giant turtles called houses.
During World War II, the archipelago was home to a US military base.
“I think if (Darwin) could go back today and see the efforts made by everyone locally and globally to protect these amazing islands and protect biodiversity – I think he would be very happy and amazed,” the naturalist descendant to the office AFP news. .
Sarah Darwin first visited the Galapagos in 1995, where she gave a guide to endemic plants. He then dedicated himself to studying local tomatoes.
He also mentored young people to raise awareness of climate change as part of a project to create a group of 200 Darwin ‘taskers’.
Oosterschelde, which calls at several ports en route from Plymouth to the Galapagos, picks up a new group of young scientists and activists at each stop and disembarks others.
One of them, Indian-born Laya Pothunuri, who joined the mission from Singapore, told AFP that the Galapagos had “scientifically important places”.
He said he was there to improve the irrigation system in the coffee growing area on the island.
“I plan to use recycled plastic, which is a big problem here,” he said, adding that the plastic waste will be disposed of by wildlife.
In the Galapagos, expedition members work with the Private University of San Francisco de Quito (USFQ), the Charles Darwin Foundation, and non-governmental organizations to combat invasive species and protect endemic species.
A study by the Charles Darwin Foundation last year found that giant tortoises in the area were consuming harmful substances caused by human pollution.
The sample revealed that 90 percent of the waste consumed was plastic, eight percent was cloth, the rest was metal, paper, cardboard, construction materials and glass.
The Galapagos Oosterschelde set sail again on Sunday and is expected to make stops in Tahiti, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
In Darwin’s footsteps: scientists recreate historic 1830s expedition
