Subject: Special news from the Galapagos Conservation Trust

From: "Galapagos Conservation Trust" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 02 Nov 2006 12:49:15 +1300

Welcome to the Galapagos Conservation Trust e-News Home  | Membership  | Newsroom  | Conservation projects  | About Us  | Contact Us  Welcome to the Galapagos Conservation Trust's e-newsletter... 2 November, 2006 

Dear Mr Stephens, 
The Galapagos Conservation Trust Announces New President 

We are delighted to welcome journalist, broadcaster and political commentator Andrew Marr as GCT's new President. He began his career at the Scotsman in 1981 and until last year was Political Editor at BBC News. These days he is found hosting Sunday AM on BBC One and BBC Radio 4's Start the Week each Monday. 

"The pressure on the Galapagos Islands is greater than ever. External markets for tourism and shark fins are driving business growth in the Galapagos, which in turn has seen the local population double in the last five years," says Marr. "In this context there are increased threats to biodiversity through higher probabilities of arrival of invasive species, over harvests of natural resources and more frequent pollution events. Some of the new potential threats to biodiversity, including avian malaria, West Nile Fever and Bird Flu, may have highly damaging and unpredictable consequences." 

Andrew first visited the Galapagos filming a special programme on Charles Darwin in 2002. He was so moved and inspired by the beautiful landscape and bizarre wildlife of the islands that the following year he agreed to speak to an audience at Galapagos Day 2003, held at the Royal Geographical Society's headquarters in London. Andrew is also remembered as Charles Darwin's champion in the BBC series of programmes that aimed to select the Greatest Briton. His talk ranged beyond the realms of animal and plant life, and considered what might be termed social and political Darwinism. 

"We are honoured and delighted that Andrew Marr has agreed to become our President for the next 3 years," said Richard Robinson, Chairman of the Galapagos Conservation Trust. "If we are to protect the Galapagos, we must ensure that people understand that the Galapagos is under threat. Having such an experienced and high profile President as Andrew Marr will help us achieve that." 
Why the Galapagos must be preserved: 

Lying 600 miles of the coast of Ecuador, this small cluster of islands are one of the most important wildlife areas in the world. The islands became Darwin's most significant stop-off during his five-year survey aboard HMS Beagle. His observations and discoveries of new species here became the bedrock for his theory of evolution through natural selection. Today 97% of the islands are National Park and make up the second largest Marine Reserve in the World. The islands are famously still home to the giant tortoise, marine iguana, flightless cormorant, blue-footed booby, waved albatross and Darwin finch, and the surrounding waters are home to unique sharks, sea lions, turtles and penguins. 

PS. In the last email bulletin we talked about the Waved Albatross being caught up in fishing lines. We want to clarify that these are not through the actions of Galapagos fishermen but from fishing off the coast of Peru. 

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