Galapagos

Sustainable Development Goals

After finishing my Ph.D, I was awarded funding by the Evolution Education Trust for a 3-year Research Associate position at King’s College, University of Cambridge, working with Galápagos policy-makers and conservation organisations to support the archipelago’s goal of achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and recovery sustainably from Covid-19. Under this umbrella topic, I was involved in several different projects, in collaboration with Dr Chris Sandbrook, Talking Transformation, Fundación Un Cambio por la Vida (FUNCAVID), the Charles Darwin Foundation, Galápagos Conservation Trust, Galápagos Conservancy, the Galápagos National Park Directorate and the Governing Council of Galápagos.

40 Priority SDG Targets for Galápagos

Using stakeholder participation and network analysis I worked with FUNCAVID to prioritise and adapt 40 SDG targets for Galápagos , through participatory workshops, and build a tool to help policy makers achieve these identified priorities. As part of this, we identified synergies and conflicts between these targets in the Galápagos context, to enable appropriate focus of resources toward those with the potential to yield maximum benefits while mitigating possible negative impacts on others. More information can be found here. This work has been published as a report, an academic paper and a Panorama Solution.

Supporting Community Initiatives through Co-Galápagos

In 2021, in collaboration with FUNCAVID and the Galápagos Conservation Trust, I co-launched an initiative called Co-Galápagos. This works to facilitate community-led social and ecological projects that can support achievement of the identified 40 priority SDG targets. In 2022, we were fortunate enough to win a Darwin Initiative award for Co-Galapagos.

Co-Galápagos works by collating project ideas from Galápagos residents that fall under the topics featured in the 40 targets, such as education, biodiversity conservation, gender equality and clean water provision. They are then offered help with project planning and fundraising, the latter often through sponsorship by tourists or other private donors. When a project receives sponsorship, project leaders are supported in their work, provided with training as necessary and assisted in producing outputs appropriate for policy-makers. We also launched the first paid internship scheme for young Galapagueños to gain experience in projects relating to the 40 targets, without having to support themselves through volunteering.

Galápagos Project Network

Linked with the Co-Galápagos Initiative, I worked with FUNCAVID, the Galápagos National Park Directorate and the University of Idaho to build a prototype network of past and present research and community projects across the islands. The idea behind this was to bring information about all the projects into one place, allow an easy overview of the work that has been/is being done and show the topics each project relates to. The tool was also designed to connect all projects to the 40 Priority SDG Targets and other plans for Galápagos. This allows easy understanding of what work is being done toward these ambitions and, importantly, where key gaps lie.

The Galápagos Hub for Sustainability, Innovation and Resilience

I represented King’s College, Cambridge on the board of the Galápagos Hub for Sustainability, Innovation and Resilience for its first year of existence. As part of this, I worked in collaboration with Dr Chris Sandbrook, Talking Transformation, and the Charles Darwin Foundation to establish a Policy Advisory Group, connected to a wider network of scientific and technical organisations within and beyond Ecuador, to inform policy and pilot solutions. This was set up to improve the efficiency of Galápagos-focused research, enable the filling of necessary knowledge gaps, allow science-informed policy decisions to be made and allow policy needs to feed back into research aims.

Post-Covid Economic Recovery Options

To support the Governing Council of Galápagos to work toward a sustainable recovery from Covid-19, I worked with Dr Chris Sandbrook, Talking Transformation and the Charles Darwin Foundation to organise and conduct scenario analysis research into post-pandemic economic recovery options and provide policy recommendations. This project was funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund. As part of this I produced a short review on the topic of gender-based violence in Galapagos.

Smooth-billed Anis

In 2015, just before starting my Ph.D on road ecology, I set up and ran a project investigating the impacts of an introduced bird, the smooth-billed ani Crotophaga ani, in Galápagos. In collaboration with the Charles Darwin Foundation and the Galápagos National Park Directorate I have been investigating the impacts that smooth-billed anis are having in Galápagos and researching potential control or eradication methods. One of the papers resulting from this work can be found here. I am now supervising a Ph.D. on this topic.

Other research

I also co-authored a study on feral cats in Galápagos, finding evidence to suggest they may be predating upon green turtle hatchlings and young marine iguanas, and a paper identifying the Top 50 Research Questions for the islands.