The Project Isabela () was an

environmental restoration Ecological restoration, or ecosystem restoration, is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, destroyed or transformed. It is distinct from conservation in that it attempts to retroactively repair ...

project in the

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands () are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the equator, west of the mainland of South America. They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador, with a population of sli ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

that took place between 1997 and 2006, initiated by the

Charles Darwin Foundation Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS) (, ''ECCD'') is a biological research station in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos, Ecuador. The station is operated by the Charles Darwin Foundation which was founded in 1959 under the auspices ...

and the

Galápagos National Park Galápagos National Park () was established in 1959. It began operation in 1968, and it is Ecuador's first national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Park history The government of Ecuador has designated 97% of the land area of the Gal ...

. Species introduced in the 16th and 17th centuries to the islands, mainly

goats The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the famil ...

and some

donkeys The donkey or ass is a domesticated equine. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a separate species, ''Equus asinus''. It was domes ...

and

pigs The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

, brought ecological devastation to the islands and posed as a threat to the

Galápagos tortoise The Galápagos tortoise or Galápagos giant tortoise (''Chelonoidis niger'') is a very large species of tortoise in the genus ''Chelonoidis'' (which also contains three smaller species from mainland South America). The species comprises 15 subsp ...

that was by the 1990s near

extinction Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

. By 1997, plans had been officially implemented to eradicate these introduced species in northern

Isabela Isabela may refer to: People with the given name * Isabela Boscov, Brazilian film critic * Isabela Corona (1913–1993), Mexican actress * Isabela Garcia (born 1967), Brazilian actress * Isabela Moraes (born 1980), Brazilian synchronized swimmer ...

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, and Pinta islands. Skilled park rangers used helicopters to hunt, and sterilized Judas goats fitted with radio collars, to track down the feral goats. The initiative was brought into action in 1999, and by 2006, 150,000 goats alone were eradicated. As of 2011, the project was the world's largest ecological island restoration effort ever.

References

Galápagos Islands Nature conservation in Ecuador Pest control campaigns Conservation projects Ecological restoration {{Ecuador-stub

See also

References