The Galapagos Treaty: Our chance to end the scourge of plastic pollution
Ahead of the fifth round of Global Plastics Treaty negotiations in Busan next month, we are calling on UN member states to support the signing of the treaty in the Galapagos Islands.
The Galapagos Islands represent so much to so many people around the world.
This remarkable Archipelago, way out in the Pacific Ocean, was the catalyst for Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, which changed the way we think about life on our planet forever. The Galapagos Islands epitomise the ability of nature to adapt and thrive, even in seemingly hostile conditions. They exhibit an abundance of life, both on land and in the marine realm, that most of our planet has sadly lost. They are one of the few places on Earth where you can see wildlife up close, the sea lions and boobies and iguanas devoid of the fear and wariness that animals elsewhere have learnt to adopt in the presence of humans.
This global jewel, the world’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of its most extensively protected landscapes, is, however, under threat like never before. The ocean currents that brought life to the Islands are now bringing huge quantities of plastic pollution, dumping the world’s trash on the Archipelago’s once pristine shores and imperilling the future of endemic species found nowhere else on Earth.
Once again, the Galapagos Islands are representative of a fundamental change in the way we think about our world. Some scientists believe that we are living in a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene, our planet now irretrievably altered by human activity. The crunch of plastic underfoot on a Galapagos beach, a phenomenon that would have been unfathomable to Darwin two centuries ago, is a grim harbinger of this new reality. And it’s not just Galapagos; islands around the world are on the front line of this pernicious problem.
Read our report
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.
But there is a chance to turn things around. The Global Plastics Treaty currently being negotiated at the United Nations could, if delegates hold their nerve and come together for the common good, pave the way for a dramatic decrease in the amount of plastic waste produced and polluted worldwide. A strong and legally-binding treaty that bans single-use plastics, tackles the proliferation of waste from fisheries and other maritime sources, and accelerates the transition to a truly circular economy, while making polluters pay to clean up their mess, would be a vital tool in stemming the flow of plastic waste washing up on Galapagos beaches.
Instead of representing humanity’s failure to protect the natural world, a plastic pollution free Galapagos could symbolise our ability to come together and tackle the great environmental challenges of our age. If we can get this right in Galapagos, we can get it right all over the world. If we can work together to stop plastic pollution, we can do the same to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss and other forms of pollution.
And we believe that we can enshrine that sense of hope and optimism in the very name of the treaty: The Galapagos Treaty. We are calling on UN member states to support the Ecuadorian government in hosting the symbolic signing of the treaty in Galapagos itself. By signing the treaty in Galapagos we would be standing on the shoulders of giants like Charles Darwin and Sir David Attenborough, sending out a message that resonates in every corner of the globe, and writing a new and heroic chapter in the history of Galapagos, of Ecuador, and of the human species.
Anyone who has seen the depths of the plastic problem we face will know that I am not exaggerating when I say this: the Galapagos Treaty could change the world. As we prepare for the fifth and final round of negotiations in Busan next month, I hope you will join us in pushing to finally make this treaty a reality.