By: Cristobal Bonifaz Jijon
It was the year 1535, during the early years of the Spanish Conquest. Friar Tomas de Berlanga was leaving Panama in a small boat, when a severe storm arose and the boat was dragged by the current towards some unknown, mysterious, desert islands covered in mist, where it was wrecked. For the first time, the world learnt of the existence of the "Enchanted Isles" or "Galapagos Archipelago" through the letter of the friar to Emperor Charles V. In the chronicles of those distant times there is a reference that the Inca Tupac-Yupanqui, grandfather of Atahualpa, had traveled to the islands on a raft. Impressed by the eruption of a volcano, he had called one of the islands Nina-Chumbi, which means "island of fire" in Quechua, while he gave the name of "Huacha-Chumi" or "outer island" to another.
At the dawn of the American emancipation, one of the heroes of the independence of Guayaquil, José de Villamil, suggested to General Juan José Flores, the first President of the Republic of Ecuador, that he take the islands in the name of the new Republic. Thus, on 12th February 1832, Colonel Ignacio Hernández officially took possession of the archipelago, naming Charles Island the seat of government. Three years later, on 24th September 1835, the "Beagle" anchored at the same island, with the young scientist, Charles Darwin, on board, and reported to Vice-Governor Villamil, who was presiding over the archipelago. In his book Darwin mentions the Vice-Governor as being the first to draw his attention to the divergent characteristics of some of the animals from different islands, since one could tell, by looking at a tortoise, which island it came from. From these observations the universal theory of evolution arose. This took place on the island of Charles, renamed "Floreana" by Villamil, in gratitude to General Flores for making him Vice-Governor of the Islands exactly 300 years after the shipwreck of Friar Tomas de Berlanga.
To commemorate the centenary of the famous scientist's visit to the islands, Ecuador passed the first decrees, dated 14th May and 11th June 1936, to protect the fauna and flora of the archipelago. In 1958, one hundred years after the publication of Darwin's book "The Origin of Species", the scientific world achieved the greatest instance of cooperation between nations: The International Geophysical Year. At the beginning of the year, various delegates of UNESCO, who visited Galapagos, recommended in their report the passing of effective laws for the protection of the species on the Islands. Meanwhile the Ecuadorian National Commission of the International Geophysical Year formulated a legal project to reform the decrees of 1936, declaring the Islands national parks. On 18th September1958 this project was presented to the National Congress with an explanation of the reasons for its development. At the end of that same year an expert from UNESCO visited Ecuador and completed the National Commission of the International Geophysical Year project which was presented to the President of the Republic, to be issued as an executive decree, since the parliamentary process was long and laborious. Years later the decree was passed, with some reforms, but the people who were to carry it out were not named and, in practical terms, the protection decreed was not made effective.
On 12th October 1959, the Charles Darwin Foundation was established in Paris, the Headquarters of UNESCO, its objective being the protection of the flora and fauna of the Islands. From the beginning, the Foundation sought an agreement with the Ecuadorian Government in order to carry out this protection. Through a provisional agreement it obtained the right to establish and construct the Research Station that bears the name of the great scientist. It is situated close to the settlement of Puerto Ayora on the island of Santa Cruz. In 1961 the President of the Foundation and the Commission visited the unfinished buildings and set down the basis for productive cooperation for both the scientific world and Ecuador.This year the Foundation hopes to sign the definitive agreement with the Government of Ecuador.
In October 1961, during the visit of the President, I had the honor, as Head of the Ecuadorian Delegation to the First Intergovernmental Commission of Oceanography gathered at the Headquarters of UNESCO in Paris, to emphasize the very important and privileged position of the Charles Darwin Research Station in Ecuador. In this place where the marine currents meet, it would be possible to carry out a complete oceanographic study of the Pacific coasts of the American continent.The North American project of the East Pacific Oceanographic Commission was presented at that very meeting, to consider the oceanographic study from the Equator towards the north. I suggested French collaboration to support the Commission of the South Pacific in its study from the Equator towards the south, thus completing the project. In this way the Research Station would become the central point of this vast international project.
In other scientific disciplines and with the generous cooperation of the Washington Geodetic Survey, the Station is going to be one of the one hundred and twenty five seismological stations in the worldwide network and is going to be a comprehensive Meteorological Station as well. The financial contribution comes from all over the world: from the National Sciences Foundations, Max Planck, several Belgian and French sources, to name just a few.
The mere enumeration of the main scientific organizations that have taken an interest or have provided assistance to the Foundation to establish the Station clearly demonstrates the importance given to this research center throughout the world. It has not even been officially inaugurated as yet! The waiting list of scientific groups who want to visit and carry out research is already rather large. I believe we can affirm that the Charles Darwin Research Station can already consider itself the laboratory of the Living Museum of Evolution that the archipelago represents for the world.
In this list, the place of honor must be accorded to UNESCO for its moral, scientific and financial support. As an Ecuadorian, I am especially grateful for the offering of scholarships in various disciplines to the youth of my nation. It has only just begun, but I have faith that this cooperation, probably unique, will be received and taken up with enthusiasm by Ecuadorians. However, it is not the only organization to offer generous collaboration: another example being the two scholarships in Pedology (Soil Science), given for study in Belgium, as a result of the investigation in the islands by a Belgian Commission.
Economically, we have the right to think that the studies made today, in many cases, could be the source of riches in the future. It is generally admitted today that the result of scientific studies brings, as an immediate consequence, the planning of economic possibilities in the place being considered. For example, the Station has not yet commenced studies in marine biology, but it is logical to suppose that, in this well-known fishing center which is Galapagos, scientific work will be of immediate commercial advantage. Consequently, this phase of indirect collaboration is of extreme importance for my country. Even the President of Ecuador, taking note of this fortunate collaboration, wrote in a personal letter to me: "I am convinced that Ecuador cannot but profit from the great benefits derived from generous collaboration with the Charles Darwin Foundation".
As an Ecuadorian and representative of my country in the French Republic, I can do no better than express deep gratitude for the efforts of the Foundation, for its studies which will surely encourage the centers of learning in my country, eventually resulting in an improvement in the living standard of the people of Ecuador. Therefore I express my sincere wish that the Foundation will continue along the same path, certain that our hopes will not be disappointed and that its future will be a success.
Cristobal Bonifaz Jijon
Ambassador for Ecuador in France
(Translated from the original Spanish)