Subject: [Fwd: Christmas greetings from the Galapagos Conservation Trust]

From: "R.Stephens" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2005 01:05:04 +0000

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	Christmas greetings from the Galapagos Conservation Trust
Date: 	Fri, 23 Dec 2005 09:39:09 +1300
From: 	Galapagos Conservation Trust <[email-masked]>
To: 	[email-masked]

Christmas banner
Home <http://www.gct.org/index.html>  |  Membership 
<http://www.gct.org/member.html>  |  Newsroom 
<http://www.gct.org/news.html>  |  Conservation projects 
<http://www.gct.org/funded.html>  |  About Us 
<http://www.gct.org/about.html>  |  Contact Us 
<http://www.gct.org/contact.html>

Galapagos Conservation Trust logo 	  Welcome to the Galapagos 
Conservation Trust's e-newsletter...
23 December, 2005

Dear Mr Stephens,

In this edition:

    * Christmas message from the GCT Chairman <#xmas>
    * Grants made by GCT in 2005 <#grants>
    * GCT Website survey <#survey>

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nigel Sitwell, Baroness Gloria Hooper, Mrs Berta Cabezas, His Excellency 
Eduardo Cabezas, Ambassador of Ecuador in the UK
Nigel Sitwell, Baroness Gloria Hooper, Mrs Berta Cabezas, His Excellency 
Eduardo Cabezas, Ambassador of Ecuador in the UK

Christmas message from the GCT Chairman

As most of you know, this year the Galapagos Conservation Trust has been 
celebrating its 10th anniversary. As Chairman of the GCT, I am pleased 
to tell you that we have increased our membership yet again, have been 
able to fulfill our grant commitments to the Charles Darwin Foundation 
and other partners in Galapagos, and have met our fundraising targets. 
In this email bulletin you will read about some of the grants that we 
have made, thanks to your generous support, and how your funds have 
helped the conservation of Galapagos.

There have been some changes in our own organisation, Christopher 
Reeves, Jennifer Stone and Richard Webb have retired from our Board of 
Trustees during the year, and I would like to thank them for their 
contributions to our success. Meanwhile, we have welcomed several new 
Trustees, who have joined us recently - Rebecca Bower, Gill Green, Tina 
Knight, Robert Silbermann and Matthew Simkins. In addition, Edmund 
Truell has rejoined the Board after an absence due to pressure of other 
commitments.

Just as importantly, we have been reviewing the role of the GCT, and 
during this process I wrote down my personal vision for the 
organisation, which I would like to share with you.

*A Vision Statement for the GCT*

The purpose of the Galapagos Conservation Trust is to assist in ensuring 
the conservation of the terrestrial and marine environment of the 
Galapagos Islands for the benefit of future generations of mankind, to 
the maximum extent possible.

    * We envision an archipelago whose biological diversity and habitats
      have been conserved or restored to their original state;
    * An archipelago where the ecosystems are intact and functional, and
      where introduced animals and plants have been eliminated, or are
      controlled to the extent that they pose no threat to native or
      endemic species;
    * Where human exploitation of the islands' resources is limited to
      measurable and sustainable levels, and where the population lives
      in harmony with the natural environment;
    * Where tourism is conducted in a sustainable manner, with vessels
      carrying no more than 100 passengers, and continues to provide key
      financial support for conservation on land and sea, as originally
      envisaged in the 1960s;
    * Above all, we envision an archipelago whose inhabitants and public
      institutions fully support these principles and are determined
      that the Galapagos National Park and Marine Reserve shall continue
      to merit the designation of a Natural World Heritage Site.

Our fundamental objectives are to conserve the wildlife and wilderness 
values and the natural processes that have caused these islands to be 
termed a "living laboratory of evolution". To achieve these objectives, 
the GCT aims to increase its financial support of the Charles Darwin 
Foundation and the Galapagos National Park; as well as supporting 
education, and engaging in advocacy within Britain or elsewhere.

Is this an impossible dream? Maybe, but I believe it's worth striving 
for. On that note, may I wish all members and supporters of the 
Galapagos Conservation Trust a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Nigel Sitwell
Chairman

PS. If you feel our Vision is worth supporting, we would be happy to 
accept a Christmas gift. You can do that by visiting our website at 
www.gct.org/donate.html <http://www.gct.org/donate.html>.

..Top <#top>

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grants made by GCT in 2005

Thanks to your support, the GCT has continued to make a significant 
contribution to funding conservation in the Galapagos Islands. If you 
would like to continue helping us, you can do so by visiting our secure 
online donation form at https://secure.gct.org/don_gen.html. With your 
help we have been able to support projects such as:

Hernan Vargas, PhD student

*£25,000 to support Ecuadorian scholarship students*
We want to empower young Ecuadorians, particularly Galapaguenos, to 
become leaders in Galapagos conservation by giving them the opportunity 
to obtain the qualifications they need to move into decision-making 
roles. To do that we have been funding several students studying in the 
UK and in Galapagos.
|| Donate online || <https://secure.gct.org/don_gen.html>

*£20,800 to support the key institutions in the Galapagos*
The Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF) is one of our local partners in 
Galapagos. It is an international research and educational organisation 
that has successfully supported the Galapagos National Park (GNP) for 
nearly five decades. The CDF runs the Charles Darwin Research Station in 
Galapagos, as well as cooperating with the GNP on conservation projects. 
Your funds have helped both the CDF and GNP run carry out the 
conservation work needed to protect the Galapagos.
|| Donate online || <https://secure.gct.org/don_gen.html>

*£15,100 on botany*
The unique plant life of the Galapagos Islands has provided remarkable 
insights into evolutionary processes and island ecology, but many 
species are threatened with extinction. The native plants of Galapagos 
are under attack. Some have already become extinct, and many more are 
threatened with extinction in the near future, mainly due to invasion by 
introduced species, but also due to other threats such as habitat 
destruction. These plants have also suffered from a chronic lack of 
conservation interest. Compared with animals, and compared with 
conservation in general in Galapagos, endangered plants have always been 
an area that is extremely difficult to fund. Our funding has enabled 
botanists in the islands carry out vital research and conservation.
|| Donate online || <https://secure.gct.org/don_gen.html>

Juvenile Galapagos giant tortoise

*£10,700 to fund conservation of the Galapagos giant tortoises*
Most of this money was spent on supporting the breeding centre run by 
the Galapagos National Park and located at the Charles Darwin Research 
Station. Since the tortoise breeding programme started in 1965, some 
2,500 juvenile tortoises have been released on their native islands. A 
milestone was reached in March 2000 when the 1,000th tortoise was 
repatriated to Española Island, thus protecting this species from almost 
certain extinction.
|| Donate online || <https://secure.gct.org/don_gen.html>

*£7,200 Project Isabela*
This project - to restore the natural ecosystem of Northern Isabela - is 
the largest and most ambitious habitat restoration project ever 
undertaken in Galapagos. The five-year project is due to end in 2006 and 
we believe it will prove to be one of the biggest success stories of 
Galapagos. We shall give a more detailed report in our spring newsletter.
|| Donate online || <https://secure.gct.org/don_gen.html>

*£3,800 for rice rat research*
During the last three years, the GCT has funded most of the research 
carried out by Oxford University post-graduate student Donna Harris. 
Those of you who came to Galapagos Day would have seen Donna's 
presentation of the work she has done. Donna and her assistant Stephen 
Gregory have spent the best part of the last three years living and 
working on the island of Santiago. Galapagos used to have its own 
diverse small mammal fauna. There were at least 12 species of Galapagos 
rice rat - from small species first named Galapagos mice by Charles 
Darwin to giant rice rats known as the Megoryzomys. Unfortunately, since 
the discovery of the archipelago, this charismatic group has undergone 
the worst decline of any vertebrate group in Galapagos, losing nine of 
the original 12 species. Donna has been carrying out research into the 
impact of the introduced black rats on the endemic rice rats. Her work 
will enable the Charles Darwin Foundation and the Galapagos National 
Park to create a plan to protect the rice rats of Galapagos.
|| Donate online || <https://secure.gct.org/don_gen.html>

*£3,000 on marine work*
One of the most important marine protected areas in the world, the 
Galapagos Marine Reserve covers 138,000 square kilometres and has an 
extraordinary range of biological communities, high levels of endemism, 
and an abundance of charismatic species. The CDF's Marine Research and 
Conservation Department works to conserve the marine and coastal 
ecosystems of Galapagos through studying ecosystem processes, as well as 
keystone and extractive species (such as sea cucumbers and lobsters). 
The information gathered enables CDF to offer well-informed management 
advice to the GNP authorities.
|| Donate online || <https://secure.gct.org/don_gen.html>

*£1,000 for a local restaurant project*
In 2002, the /Don Abraham/, an 18-metre fishing vessel from Manta, a 
port on the Ecuadorian mainland, was detained by the Galapagos National 
Park and the Navy while fishing illegally in the Galapagos Marine 
Reserve. Since the implementation of the Special Law for Galapagos in 
1998, industrial fishing has not been permitted in the Marine Reserve. 
After the confiscated vessel had lain idle for two years, the Park 
decided to sell it. Hearing of this opportunity, the NGO Wild Aid, which 
has an office in Galapagos, teamed up with the San Cristobal Women's 
Organisation Cecilia Alvear (OMCA is its acronym in Spanish) in order to 
purchase the boat and provide an alternative income-generating activity 
for the fishermens' wives. GCT's contribution will go towards converting 
the vessel into a boutique and restaurant where OMCA can sell their 
crafts, attend to tourists, as well serving as an example for other 
community development initiatives.
|| Donate online || <https://secure.gct.org/don_gen.html>

For further details on the above work, see the CDF's annual report at 
http://www.darwinfoundation.org/about/annual.html.

..Top <#top>

------------------------------------------------------------------------

GCT Website survey

*Help us by completing a quick survey and be in the draw to win a book!*

Galapagos Wildlife a Visitors Guide

As a friend of the Galapagos Conservation Trust, we would like to invite 
you to participate in a survey that we are currently conducting about 
the GCT website.

It is important to us to provide the best service we can to our members 
and supporters, and the website has become increasingly valuable as a 
means of communication. We would therefore appreciate if you would 
complete a quick survey, to help us to evaluate important features about 
the website.

The survey will take a couple of minutes of your time, but your feedback 
will be invaluable to us in our efforts to produce the best website we 
possibly can. You can also enter the draw to win a signed copy of David 
Horwell's book, /"Galapagos Wildlife - a Visitors Guide/.

Click to visit the website survey <http://www.gct.org/websurvey_2.html>

If you have trouble viewing the image above, the web address of the 
survey is http://www.gct.org/websurvey_2.html

..Top <#top>

------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Galapagos Conservation Trust GOLD CLUB*
Bales Worldwide | Bernard Chandran | Celebrities Worldwide | Discovery 
Initiatives | Durley House | Eric Way | Flemings | Laurent Perrier | 
Nicholas Moll Design | Quasar Nautica | Rhubarb | Select Latin America

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subscribe <http://www.gct.org/newsreq.html> | Forward this newsletter to 
a friend <http://www.gct.org/enews/eforward.html>

Would you prefer to receive a text-only version of this email newsletter?
Then please reply and write TEXT in the subject line of your email.

GCT is a registered charity (no. 1043470). Address: 5 Derby Street, 
London W1J 7AB, United Kingdom. If you have received this email in 
error, or wish to be removed from our list, please reply and write 
UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.

Home <http://www.gct.org/index.html> | About GCT 
<http://www.gct.org/about.html> | Explore Galapagos 
<http://www.gct.org/intro.html> | Conservation 
<http://www.gct.org/conserve.html> | Get Involved 
<http://www.gct.org/involved.html> | Newsroom 
<http://www.gct.org/news.html> | Events <http://www.gct.org/events.html> 
| Visiting Galapagos <http://www.gct.org/visit.html> | Junior Zone 
<http://www.gct.org/children.html> | Links 
<http://www.gct.org/links.html> | Site map 
<http://www.gct.org/sitemap.html>
Copyright © Galapagos Conservation Trust 2005. Read our Terms of use 
<http://www.gct.org/terms.html> and Privacy policy 
<http://www.gct.org/privacy.html>