US embassy cable - 05QUITO414

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 QUITO 000414 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID, ECON, ETRD, EFIS, PREL, PGOV, SENV, SMIG, EC, Environment 
SUBJECT: ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: A LONG-TERM PROBLEM IN THE 
GALAPAGOS 
 
 
1.  Summary.  While the conservation, tourism, and fishing 
sectors in the Galapagos may disagree on the best use of 
natural resources in the archipelago, they do agree on one 
thing - that illegal immigration is the most serious threat 
to long-term sustainability in the Galapagos.  Every sector 
with which we have spoken raised immigration as the foremost 
long-term issue affecting the islands.  Immigration to the 
Galapagos is controlled and regulated under the Galapagos 
Special Law, but enforcement has always been the real 
concern.  The Galapagos will continue to attract illegal 
immigrants from the Ecuadorian mainland, as the average 
standard of living is higher on the islands.  Moreover, the 
problem will persist until the authorities develop a rational 
and enforceable system for controlling it.  End Summary. 
 
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So Many People, So Little Space 
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2.  When the Galapagos Islands were set aside as a national 
park in 1959, roughly 3% (or 200 square kilometers) of the 
land area was set aside for human habitation.  At that time, 
there were approximately 1,000 habitants.  GOE officials 
estimate the current population of the Galapagos to be 
approximately 20,000.  INGALA (Instituto Nacional Galapagos - 
the regional planning and coordinating counsel) and 
conservation officials estimate that it is more like 27,000 
habitants. 
 
3.  INGALA and the conservation sector also believe that the 
annual increase in the Galapagos population due to illegal 
immigration is as high as 10%, while GOE officials and the 
tourism and fishing sectors cite 6%. 
 
4.  The number of tourists for CY2003 was 91,293, an 11% 
increase over 2002, which saw a 6% increase over 2001. 
Surprisingly, the number of U.S. tourists over the same time 
period was somewhat static, hovering at slightly more than 
25,000.  The number of Ecuadorians going to the Galapagos 
increased by 14% from 2001 to 2002, and by 24% from 2002 to 
2003.  What is unusual is that the number of Ecuadorians 
coming to the Galapagos in 2003 actually exceeded the number 
of Amcits by 2,500.  While many are traveling to the 
Galapagos for legitimate reasons, a large percentage is 
assumed to be illegal immigrants.  This also lends some 
credence to the INGALA/conservation sector suggestion that 
Ecuadorians are migrating to the islands at a much higher 
rate and that the current population is higher than GOE 
estimates. 
 
5.  Representatives from all sectors note that immigration 
from the mainland to the islands is currently at untenable 
levels.  In the best-case scenario - 6% annual rate of growth 
in population and a current population of 20,000 - there will 
be an estimated 40,000 inhabitants on the islands by 2014. 
This level would be unsustainable, given current 
infrastructure, and could lead to political pressure to 
extend the size of the area set aside for human habitation. 
This level of population would also contribute to increasing 
pollution and other environmental damage. 
 
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Controlling Immigration 
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6.  The Galapagos Special Law (GSL) governs immigration to 
the islands.  This law, signed March 18, 1998, specifies that 
there are three categories of people on the islands - 
Permanent residents, temporary residents, and tourists.  A 
permanent resident is: 1) someone who was born in the 
Province of Galapagos or the children of permanent resident 
parents; 2) an Ecuadorian or foreigner who legalized as a 
permanent resident and is married to a permanent resident; 
and 3) an Ecuadorian or foreigner who became permanent 
residents and had been living in the Province of Galapagos 
for five years as of March 17, 1998.  A temporary resident 
is: 1) a person temporarily assigned to the Galapagos (e.g., 
military, academics, religious, etc.); 2) persons in a labor 
dependency relationship; and 3) spouse and children of a 
temporary resident.  Tourists and transients are permitted to 
stay up to 90 days and may not participate in any profitable 
activities. 
 
7.  The problem is Ecuadorians arriving from the mainland as 
tourists and staying on indefinitely to work.  The issue is 
enforcement of the GSL.  Local immigration officials on the 
Galapagos do not check the length of stay of an individual 
when they are departing.  With the mainland only a short (and 
cheap) flight away, Ecuadorians come and go working tourist 
related jobs at higher wages than are paid on the mainland. 
(Note: The park entrance fee for residents is $6, as opposed 
to the $100 charged to foreigners.)  With per capita income 
on the Galapagos higher than on the mainland and the 
affordable cost of traveling to the Galapagos, it is no 
surprise that those with no prospects are drawn to this 
economy. 
 
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Short on Solutions 
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8.  Controls on the movement of populations within a country 
are spectacularly difficult to enforce, and Ecuador, with its 
generally corrupt public institutions, is particularly poor 
at enforcing such controls.  We are considering sending some 
Ecuadorian immigration officials to the U.S. on International 
Visitors grants in order to expose them to workable ideas for 
controlling immigration.  However, as long as income 
differentials persist, it is likely that illegal immigration 
will remain a problem. 
 
Chacon