'Galapagos Forest Revitalization Project': Tree-Planting on Peace Boat’s 114th Voyage

Galapagos: Nature in Crisis

During Peace Boat’s 114th Global Voyage in June 2023, a program was held to visit the Galapagos Islands. Nineteen participants temporarily left the ship in Cristobal (Panama) and visited the Galapagos Islands, located on the equator approximately 1,000 km west of Ecuador, to plant trees with local high school students.

Described as a 'microcosm of evolution' and home to many endemic species, the Galapagos Islands became the first UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site in 1978. In 2001, a marine reserve was also added to the World Natural Heritage list. The islands are full of the treasures of nature, with 97% of the land area designated as protected areas, of which only 3% is habitat and farmland, and a mere 1% of the total area accessible to visitors ashore.

However, in June 2007, the island was placed on the Critically Endangered Heritage List due to development caused by a rapid increase in the number of tourists and non-native species of flora and fauna introduced by visitors to the islands. The Ecuadorian Government responded by implementing reforms, such as limiting the number of tourists entering the island and the length of their stay, and strengthening the laws to prevent the introduction of non-native species. Thanks to these efforts, the Galapagos Islands were removed from the Critically Endangered Heritage List in 2010, but further efforts need to be made to protect these precious islands.

Peace Boat's Galapagos Forest Revitalization Project

Aware of the critical situation in Galapagos even before it was inscribed on the Critically Endangered Heritage List, Peace Boat launched the 'Galapagos Forest Revitalization Project' in May 2007. The project is a joint initiative with Koichi Fujiwara, a photojournalist and representative of the Galapagos Conservation Foundation, and the local Charles Darwin Foundation. Peace Boat visits the Galapagos Islands two to three times a year. During these visits, an effort is made to restore the forest on Santa Cruz Island, the second largest of the Galapagos Islands and a major tourist center, by planting seedlings of endemic plants on land that was unfortunately cleared of non-native plants.

Nineteen people took part in the six-day program to visit the Galapagos Islands and enjoyed the natural beauty of the area. They planted trees in the forest near Los Gemelos, a huge sinkhole formed by the collapse of a magma reservoir in the center of Santa Cruz Island. They also met with local high school students in an area known as the Highlands, about 45 minutes by bus from Puerto Ayora in the southern part of the island, where they were staying. The high school students, who will be the future leaders of Galapagos, were encouraged to value the importance of protecting nature and learn about it together with the visitors from Japan.

One team of two Peace Boat participants and one high school student went into the forest with shovels and military gloves. In equally spaced holes in the ground, they planted saplings of three species endemic to Galapagos: skalesia, cafetille, and guayabille. The process of digging out the hard soil, setting up the saplings, and covering the surrounding area with soil was quite difficult. The team had to carefully plan the tree planting to ensure a good balance of the three species of saplings. Around the area where they planted the trees, the Sukaresia trees previously planted by Peace Boat participants during a previous program had grown and created a large forest. Plants indigenous to the Galapagos Islands are threatened by invasive species such as the highly fertile kina tree (the source of a special medicine for malaria) and blackberries. Increasing the number of fast-growing endemic species such as Sclerotia helps prevent the increase of non-native species and protects the Galapagos environment.

After planting trees at two sites, participants had lunch with the high school students. Some participants brought magic tricks and other games to ensure a fun time was had by all during the exchange. Some of the high school students who had participated in tree-planting activities with Peace Boat in the past were happy to report that they were still involved in tree-planting activities after graduation.