Executive Summary
In this article we summarise the key findings and themes from the last five years of plastic pollution research in Galapagos, including impacts on wildlife and the role of fisheries.
Learn more
Plastic Pollution Free Galapagos: 5 Years of Science to Solutions
A landmark new report released by Galapagos Conservation Trust and the Galapagos National Park Directorate presents the most detailed picture to date of the threat that coastal plastic pollution poses to the Galapagos Islands.
This report covers our current knowledge on the international plastic footprint affecting Galapagos, highlighting oceanic inputs and the impacts on wildlife and communities.
Our findings underline the urgent need for world leaders to agree an ambitious, legally-binding Global Plastics Treaty that bans single-use plastics, accelerates the transition to a circular economy, strengthens international laws on waste management at sea and enforces the ‘polluter pays’ principle.
Explore this report
Global Plastics Treaty
We're calling on world leaders to agree an ambitious, legally-binding Global Plastics Treaty that ends the scourge of plastic pollution.
Learn more
Pacific Plastics: Science to Solutions
Pacific Plastics: Science to Solutions is a network of world-class scientists working together with NGOs and governmental agencies to free the Eastern Pacific from ocean plastic.
Visit PPSS website
Galapagos Day 2024
Join us in London on 10 October for Galapagos Day 2024, where guest speakers including the Director of the Galapagos National Park will be sharing the latest on the fight against plastic pollution.
Book tickets
Ocean plastic pollution: A global threat
Ocean plastic pollution is a global threat, impacting our planet from the smallest organisms to entire ecosystems.
Nowhere in the world is immune to plastic pollution, and Galapagos, like many other islands, is receiving huge amounts of international waste.
Watch our short animation to learn more.
Key research papers
Plastic pollution transcends marine protected area boundaries in the eastern tropical and south-eastern Pacific
Marine Pollution Bulletin – April 2024
Zara L.R. Botterell, Francisca Ribeiro, Daniela Alarcón-Ruales, Eliana Alfaro, Joanna Alfarao-Shigueto, Nicola Allan, Nicole Becerra, Laura Braunholtz, Susana Cardenas-Diaz, Diamela de Veer, Gabriela Escobar-Sanchez, Maria Virginia Gabela-Flores, Brendan J. Godley, Inty Grønneberg, Jessica A. Howard, Daniela Honorato-Zimmer, Jen S. Jones, Ceri Lewis, Jeffrey C. Mangel, Maximilian Martin, Tamara S. Galloway
This study, co-authored by GCT’s Dr Jen Jones and Jess Howard, shows that marine protected areas (MPAs) such as the Galapagos Marine Reserve do not stop the movement of plastic pollution across our oceans. Researchers collected plastic pollution data from 430 locations in nine countries, of which 90 were within MPAs. The team concluded that an MPA did not significantly affect macro or microplastic levels.
Plastic ingestion in giant tortoises: An example of a novel anthropogenic impact for Galapagos wildlife
Environmental Pollution – January 2024
Karina Ramón-Gómez, Santiago R. Ron, Sharon L. Deem, Kyana N. Pike, Colton Stevens, Juan Carlos Izurieta, Ainoa Nieto-Claudín
Research supported by GCT found that giant tortoises on Santa Cruz island are ingesting items including medical face masks, glass and plastic bags. The collaborative study focused on the Western Santa Cruz giant tortoise (Chelonoidis porteri). This species, classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, is the Galapagos tortoise that spends the most time in and around urban areas.
Galápagos and the plastic problem
Frontiers in Sustainability – March 2023
Juan Pablo Muñoz-Pérez, Gregory A. Lewbart, Daniela Alarcón-Ruales, Alice Skehel, Esteban Cobos, Roberth Rivera, Alexis Jaramillo, Henry Vivanco, Leo Zurita-Arthos, Bryan Wallace, Carlos A. Valle, Kathy A. Townsend
The authors of this study, including members of the Pacific Plastics: Science to Solutions network, worked closely with citizen scientists to quantify and map the magnitude and biological effects of plastic pollution in Galapagos.
Microplastic distribution and composition on two Galápagos island beaches, Ecuador: Verifying the use of citizen science derived data in long-term monitoring
Environmental Pollution – October 2022
Jen S. Jones, Anne Guézou, Sara Medor, Caitlin Nickson, Georgie Savage, Daniela Alarcón-Ruales, Tamara S. Galloway, Juan Pablo Muñoz-Pérez, Sarah E. Nelms, Adam Porter, Martin Thiel, Ceri Lewis
This study, led by GCT’s CEO, Dr Jen Jones, found that 93% of particles collected by citizen scientists were correctly identified as plastic. Long-term monitoring of beaches in Galapagos is essential to understanding the sources of plastic pollution and guiding mitigation strategies, but this monitoring can be financially and logistically challenging for scientists, so citizen science represents an innovative solution.
Plastic contamination of a Galapagos Island (Ecuador) and the relative risks to native marine species
Science of The Total Environment – October 2021
Jen S. Jones, Adam Porter, Juan Pablo Muñoz-Pérez, Daniela Alarcón-Ruales, Tamara S. Galloway, Brendan J. Godley, David Santillo, Jessica Vagg, Ceri Lewis
This study, led by GCT’s CEO, Dr Jen Jones, explored the presence, composition and environmental drivers of plastic contamination across the marine ecosystem at an island scale, investigated uptake in marine invertebrates and designed a systematic priority scoring analysis to identify the most vulnerable vertebrate species.
Basin-scale sources and pathways of microplastic that ends up in the Galápagos Archipelago
Ocean Science – October 2019
Erik van Sebille, Philippe Delandmeter, John Schofield, Britta Denise Hardesty, Jen Jones, Andy Donnelly
Co-authored by GCT’s Dr Jen Jones and Andy Donnelly, this study shows that remote sources of plastic pollution in Galapagos are limited to nearby fishing regions and South American and Central American coastlines, in particular northern Peru and southern Ecuador.
Get the latest news from Galapagos
Join our mailing list to receive our monthly email newsletter, bringing you the latest news on Galapagos and our work to protect the Islands.
