These Waters Are Getting the Protection They Need

The Galápagos Islands gain a new marine reserve that expends by 50% the surface area of existing protected waters, a necessity since seas are great regulating assets for the global climate.

“There are places that shape human history, and today we have the honor of being in one of those places,” says Ecuadoran President Guillermo Lasso. “These islands teach us something about ourselves. What if we didn’t set ourselves up as masters over this Earth, but as its protectors?”

According to the decree, an additional 60,000 square kilometers will be protected, this time north of the archipelago. The reserve called Hermandad – or Brotherhood – is built upon the 133,000-square-kilometer Galápagos Marine Reserve, and will connect Pacific islands belonging to Colombia and Costa Rica, thus protecting 40% of the world’s marine species. A UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site since 1978, the archipelago is home to more than 2,900 marine species, including rare ones like the marine iguana and the Galápagos finch.