7 June 2013 Last updated at 10:30 ET By Stephan Kuffner Quito, Ecuador
Fears that rising tourist visitor numbers could threaten the island's unique wildlife have not been borne out but other challenges remain
Among the rare species on the Galapagos was the giant tortoise, 'Lonesome George', who died in 2012.
Thousands of birds, such as this owl, die every year. Many are killed by traffic on the road.
Fears that rising tourist visitor numbers could threaten the island's unique wildlife have not been borne out but other challenges remain
Ecuador's Galapagos Islands, lying 1,000 km (621 miles) off-shore in the Pacific Ocean, are famed as the natural laboratory that inspired Charles Darwin to develop the theory of evolution.
Surging growth in tourism and local population during the boom times led to serious fears about whether their unique ecosystems could survive the pressure.
Now, awareness of these twin threats appears to have spurred the government into faster action.
On 1 June, President Rafael Correa warned that the islands faced "multiple problems" from "disorder, a lot of abuse, a lot of anarchy, lack of policies".
In a break with tradition, he named an outsider, Maria Isabel Salvador, who was Ecuador's ambassador to the Organization of American States, to run the archipelago.
"The message was very clear, the government is preparing to make some unpopular decisions," says Reyna Oleas, an ecologist in Puerto Ayora, the islands' biggest town.
Already, some fuel subsidies have been cut and the permitted number of cars capped because of the 13,000 birds they run over each year.
In recent years, with the rapid growth of both luxury and backpack travel, tourists have flocked to the islands to wonder at its unique giant tortoises, tame sea lions, and abundant birdlife.
The tourism boom prompted warnings that the visitors would inflict untold damage on the archipelago. Sheer numbers were considered the main threat.
In 1980, environmentalists worried that too many people were arriving, and called for no more than 12,000 a year. That's less than a tenth of present visitors.
Since 2007, tourist numbers have stagnated at around 170,000 annually because of the global financial crisis. If pre-crisis growth rates had continued, there were fears that number could have reached 300,000 tourists.
The slowdown has eased calls for a ceiling on tourists. And observers argue the industry remains the lifeblood of the economy, and needs to be regulated, rather than prohibited.
"If not for tourism, these islands would have been destroyed long ago," says Fernando Delgado, a hotel manager with a long working experience on the archipelago.
Among the rare species on the Galapagos was the giant tortoise, 'Lonesome George', who died in 2012.
Scientists say the areas that tourists visit are well-supervised. More than 90% of the islands, surrounded by a vast marine preserve, are officially off limits.
However, few spots have been truly left untouched by human presence.
By the time Darwin visited in 1835, Ecuador had annexed the islands, and established a penal colony. Rats and goats soon followed the felons.
For Godfrey Merlen, a British biologist who has lived on the islands for four decades, controlling alien species is the top priority.
The cost of eradication programmes and research would run only to several million dollars a year, he says, a relatively small portion of Ecuador's planned $30 billion 2013 budget.
Merlen recommends the government create a central hub for goods shipped in from the mainland to control better what gets transported where between the inhabited islands, as each has its own distinct environment and species.
However, the archipelago is not a paradise for all.
Aside from the azure waters and nearby unspoilt white beaches, little distinguishes Puerto Ayora, where two-thirds of the islands' 26,000 people live, from the mainland's many grim towns of concrete and corrugated tin roofs.
Many people on the Galapagos are locked in their own Darwinian struggle for a share of the dollars that tourism has brought in. Allegations of corruption and drug smuggling add to the small-town cauldron of jealous competition.
Despite the estimated annual influx of $150m from tourism into the Galapagos economy, poverty remains a serious problem.
A 2010 government study found that 31% of residents are poor, measured according to how well their basic needs are met.
Galapagos also has above-average rates of domestic violence for Ecuador. More than 40% of the adult population have had only basic or no schooling at all, though literacy rates are higher than on the mainland.
While Ecuador gets positive marks for the conservation effort, many locals feel hemmed in. They experience freedom of movement when they visit relatives on the mainland.
At home, residents are restricted to the 3% of the islands not officially part of the national park, and prices for trips are too high for them to visit the same spots that tourists rave about.
Mr Delgado believes this reduces their appreciation for conservation.
But while highlighting problems, the data also show efforts going into policing the islands.
"One can get the wrong impression from the terrible headlines," says Ms Oleas.
"The trend shows an improvement, though the rhythm may be slower than hoped for."
Thousands of birds, such as this owl, die every year. Many are killed by traffic on the road.
Population growth, which had averaged almost 6% annually in the late 20th Century, has flattened markedly, although it still averaged 2.2% from 2002 to 2010.
There is also no clear evidence of people being responsible for any decline in the population of animal species, says Mr Merlen.
"There are huge efforts being made to establish rules and regulations," he says, including a new quarantine agency announced by President Correa in October.
The government has also been commended for stepping up controls of illegal immigration to the islands, despite some reports of police heavy-handedly returning people to the mainland.
More rules will follow.
The problems are not limited to those on dry land. Environmentalists also complain of pressures from industrial and sport fishing on the vast marine preserve that surrounds the islands.
In the 1990s, trafficking in sea cucumbers to Asia where they are a delicacy almost wiped out common species.
Poorly-regulated speedboats intended only for transport from one island to another offer detours for unsupervised visits to limited legal landing sites, with the risk of destruction and transmission of seeds and insects from one island to another.
"You need extremely strong willpower and goodwill to get things done," says Mr Merlen.
"At the end of the day, they're all people problems."
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Jason Collins, Chris Kluwe, Brendan Ayanbadejo, Orlando Cruz, David Testo and Wade Davis headline pride events around the country.
Another sign that gays and sports are more intertwined than ever comes this month as cities across the country celebrate gay pride. Gay athletes and straight allies are prominent at several of them.
This weekend, Jason Collins, the first openly gay NBA player, will march in Boston's gay pride parade with Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III, his college roommate. A big thrill for Collins was throwing out the first pitch Thursday as the Red Sox held their first pride night.
"I knew coming out that I was going to walk with my old college roommate, and getting to throw the first pitch out is sort of icing on the cake," Collins told the Boston Globe. "I saw that Joe had participated in the parade last summer and I was very proud of him. I was also partly jealous."
Here is how the Associated Press described Collins' first pitch:
The 7-foot center was greeted with a nice applause when the PA announcer read the opening of the SI article: "I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay." Wearing a Red Sox jersey with the No. 98 on the back, Collins threw out the first pitch to Red Sox manager John Farrell. ..."This is an opportunity for us as an organization. We respect his courage, we respect his choices," Farrell said during his daily meeting with the media. "It's an opportunity to showcase that. At the time when this was a possibility of coming out, we had said we're an organization that embraces all, and I think this is a very small way of showing that."
Also this weekend, straight ally Brendan Ayanbadejo will be honored at Christopher Street West, the gay pride event in West Hollywood. He is being given the George Moscone Ally Award, named after the former San Francisco mayor who was killed along with Harvey Milk. From the award nomination:
"This year's award is being presented to 2012 NFL Super Bowl champion Brendon Ayanbadejo who has repeatedly and steadfastly advocated for LGBT rights. A straight ally, Ayanbadejo has not only spoken out about his staunch support of marriage equality, he has encouraged fellow professional athletes to do the same. In an industry known for discrimination towards LGBT people, both with players and many fans, Ayanbadejo has risked his popularity amongst many by supporting the rights of a few."
On the weekend of June 29-30, Chris Kluwe will be the grand marshal in the Twin Cities pride parade. The longtime Minnesota Vikings punter, now with the Oakland Raiders, will be honored for his fight last year against a constitutional amendment that would have banned gay marriage in Minnesota.
That same weekend, in Chicago, the Cubs will have a float in that's city's pride parade. The grand marshal of the Chicago parade will be former NFL player Wade Davis.
"Since leaving the league, [Davis] has gotten really involved in the LGBT community and has put a lot of energy into his efforts. He is just so involved. It really inspired us," said parade coordinator Richard Pfeiffer. "He was giving so much time and energy to the LGBT community, we thought we'd be honored to have him as grand marshal."
Last weekend, former pro soccer player David Testo was the grand marshal at Salt Lake City's pride parade. Testo was asked how his life has changed since coming out in 2011:
"It's definitely changed for the better," he said. "I think I've been able to affect some people's lives in a positive way, and I think the movement is growing now."
Also last weekend, openly gay boxer Orlando Cruz was a busy man at pride events in Queens and Buffalo. He was the grand marshal of the 21st annual Queens Pride Parade and Multicultural Festival.
Cruz also found time to attend Buffalo's gay pride event and tweeted out this photo of himself:
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LONDON — It’s a busy weekend at the luxury Grove Hotel, favored haunt of British soccer players and their glitz-loving spouses.
More than 100 of the world’s most powerful people are at the former manor house near London for a secretive annual gathering that has attained legendary status in the eyes of anti-capitalist protesters and conspiracy theorists.
The guest list for the Bilderberg meeting includes Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde and former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. British Prime Minister David Cameron is due to drop by Friday.
The Bilderberg Group was set up in 1954 to support military and economic co-operation between Europe and North America during the Cold War.
Named for the site of its first meeting — the Bilderberg Hotel in Oosterbeek, Holland — the forum for prominent politicians, thinkers and business leaders has been held annually at a series of secluded venues in Europe and North America.
What happens at Bilderberg, stays at Bilderberg. There is no media access and the public is kept away by a large security operation. The group says that “there is no detailed agenda, no resolutions are proposed, no votes are taken, and no policy statements are issued.”
But in a move toward slightly more openness, the group now has a website, which lists attendees and key topics for discussion, including the economy, U.S. foreign policy, “cyber warfare and the proliferation of asymmetric threats” and “major trends in medical research.”
Invitees include British Treasury chief George Osborne, Goldman Sachs chairman Peter Sutherland and Thomas Enders, CEO of aerospace company EADS.
Publication of these details has done little to ease the concerns of protesters, who sense a shadowy global elite at work in the secretive meeting.
”When 130 of the leaders from all across the West get together, and many of these are billionaires, they are people who are immensely wealthy and immensely powerful,” said Michael Meacher, a lawmaker from Britain’s Labour Party.
”And when they all get together, it’s not just to have a chat about the latest problem, it is to concert plans for the future of capitalism in the West. That is on a very different scale.”
Others go even further, putting Bilderberg at the heart of a global web of conspiracy. The protesters in Watford include U.S. talk-radio host and Sept. 11 “truther” Alex Jones, and former professional soccer player David Icke, who believes the world is run by a race of reptiles in human form.
Demonstrators plan to hold a “Bilderberg fringe” festival outside the hotel until the conference ends Sunday.
A Bilderberg spokesman — reached by email since no phone number is listed — said there is nothing sinister about the gathering.
“We disclose the date, the location, the participants and the key topics of the conference,” Xander Heijnen said. “Many groups of people meet without announcing it publicly at all, without disclosing who is taking part and without giving any key topics.
“The meetings broaden the participants’ range of viewpoints, help them to gain insights and exchange views,” he said. “It seems illogical to argue that a meeting of individuals designed to give and obtain fresh insights, somehow ‘undermines democracy.’”
That message has not swayed protesters like Judd Charlton, a ventriloquist from London who showed up Thursday to jeer at cars with blacked-out windows entering the hotel compound.
“We are basically here to bring down the parasites who are drug dealers and bank collapsers who seem to want to destroy this world,” he said.
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