The COVID-19 crisis in the Galapagos Islands: an opportunity to enhance adaptive capacity against climate change [ENGLISH VERSION]

[ENGLISH VERSION] The Galapagos Islands represent one of the most iconic and well-conserved hotspots of biodiversity in the world. However, this unique volcanic archipelago is facing a growing number of threats caused by multiple anthropogenic and climatic drivers of change, being the most recent the COVID-19 virus. Such global-scale perturbation has impacted the economy and lifestyle of a population of 30 000 residents, causing the most severe economic crisis in the history of the Galapagos. This SciTalk explores how fishers and seafood consumers have coped with the COVID-19 crisis, how Galapagos seafood security and seafood consumption patterns have been affected, and how the pandemic can represent an opportunity to improve the adaptive capacity of the small-scale fishing sector from the Galapagos Marine Reserve against future crises, including climate change. Based on this knowledge, we propose a set of adaptation and transformation pathways to sustain small-scale fisheries, conserve marine biodiversity, and support human wellbeing into the future.

This Keystone Symposia SciTalk was made possible in collaboration with: