Day 7 (1/7/20):
Today we traveled from the Galapagos islands back to Guayacil. We had planned to go on a city tour after arriving in Guayaquil but had to cancel this activity as we were delayed at the airport for a few hours. After arriving in Guayaquil we walked to get dinner at a fast food restaurant. As a vegetarian I usually skip out on fast food at home, however I had a fair amount of vegetarian options. I had plantains, eggs, a corn cob on a stick, and blackberry juice. The food was very affordable and delicious! I really enjoy that in Ecuador almost every restaurant offers fruit juice which seems homemade.
After returning from dinner we had two presentations, one from a guest speaker and one from two classmates. Our first presentation by Natalie was titled “The Impact of Shrimp Farms In The Mangroves of Ecuador”. Mangroves are very valuable to our ecosystem. Mangroves provide buffer zones, environmental services, biodiversity, carbon capture, reduce flooding, and act as a cradle for species. Ecuador has 6 provinces on the pacific coast with mangroves and the Galapagos islands have them as well. Ecuador was one of the first countries to develop shrimp farming. Ecuador produces 60% of the shrimp in the Americas. Unfortunately, over the past 37 years, shrimp farms have taken over 27% of the mangrove regions. This has had devastating environmental impacts. Recently, there has been an increase in protections for mangroves. Deforestation of one hectare of protected mangroves in Ecuador can result in up to 3 years of jail time and a large monetary fine. In 2019 a new law was enacted to protect mangrove regions while also protecting local people. The locals were given sections of the mangroves in exchange that they use the mangroves sustainably. This agreement allows the locals to make a living while avoiding these regions going to those who will abuse the land.
The locals who use the mangroves to live off of catch crabs with their hands. Not using traps avoids bycatch and allows for proper inspection of the animal to ensure it is in line with the regulations (size, male or female). This method of fishing is now a new tourism attraction, people can experience being a crab catcher for a day. This is an alternative to excessive fishing for profit which preserves the marine life populations and has a smaller environmental impact. Mangroves are essential and there are committees around the world that hope by 2021-2030 to recover 30% of the mangroves.
The next presentation was given by Val and Ryan about Ecuador’s Economy. Ecuador has an economy that has been built on the exportation of the country’s natural resources. This is called the “Natural Resource Curse”. While this can be profitable the environment suffers and it is not consistent. Resources can unbalance an economy due to rapid market changes. Additionally, although Ecuador exports crude petroleum it still needs to import refined petroleum so they lose a significant amount of their profits. Ecuador has the 69th largest export industry in the world and the USA is the top export/import partner with Ecuador. Over 50% of the country’s GDP comes from oil but there have been initiatives to reduce this percentage. Hopefully in the future there will be a more sustainable alternative to generate profit. In recent years the tourism industry has been increasing within Ecuador. Maybe this small sector of the economy will in the future generate a more significant profit in a more sustainable way.
After returning from dinner we had two presentations, one from a guest speaker and one from two classmates. Our first presentation by Natalie was titled “The Impact of Shrimp Farms In The Mangroves of Ecuador”. Mangroves are very valuable to our ecosystem. Mangroves provide buffer zones, environmental services, biodiversity, carbon capture, reduce flooding, and act as a cradle for species. Ecuador has 6 provinces on the pacific coast with mangroves and the Galapagos islands have them as well. Ecuador was one of the first countries to develop shrimp farming. Ecuador produces 60% of the shrimp in the Americas. Unfortunately, over the past 37 years, shrimp farms have taken over 27% of the mangrove regions. This has had devastating environmental impacts. Recently, there has been an increase in protections for mangroves. Deforestation of one hectare of protected mangroves in Ecuador can result in up to 3 years of jail time and a large monetary fine. In 2019 a new law was enacted to protect mangrove regions while also protecting local people. The locals were given sections of the mangroves in exchange that they use the mangroves sustainably. This agreement allows the locals to make a living while avoiding these regions going to those who will abuse the land.
The locals who use the mangroves to live off of catch crabs with their hands. Not using traps avoids bycatch and allows for proper inspection of the animal to ensure it is in line with the regulations (size, male or female). This method of fishing is now a new tourism attraction, people can experience being a crab catcher for a day. This is an alternative to excessive fishing for profit which preserves the marine life populations and has a smaller environmental impact. Mangroves are essential and there are committees around the world that hope by 2021-2030 to recover 30% of the mangroves.
The next presentation was given by Val and Ryan about Ecuador’s Economy. Ecuador has an economy that has been built on the exportation of the country’s natural resources. This is called the “Natural Resource Curse”. While this can be profitable the environment suffers and it is not consistent. Resources can unbalance an economy due to rapid market changes. Additionally, although Ecuador exports crude petroleum it still needs to import refined petroleum so they lose a significant amount of their profits. Ecuador has the 69th largest export industry in the world and the USA is the top export/import partner with Ecuador. Over 50% of the country’s GDP comes from oil but there have been initiatives to reduce this percentage. Hopefully in the future there will be a more sustainable alternative to generate profit. In recent years the tourism industry has been increasing within Ecuador. Maybe this small sector of the economy will in the future generate a more significant profit in a more sustainable way.