The Germany Development Bank KfW supports the ecologic restoration of Floreana Island
Floreana's project is considered one of the most ambitious worldwide in its kind because of the big size of the island, equivalent to over 32,000 football fields (17,125 ha), which is looking to reintroduce thirteen endemic species declared locally extinct.
The delegates of KfW have visited the Galapagos twice to check this long-term project's updates. In this opportunity, Claudia Arce, KfW Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, learned first-hand the islands' conservation efforts to reintroduce eleven bird species and two reptile species in the Floreana's ecosystem during her visit from October 15-18, 2022.
The Floreana's Ecological Restoration Project, led by the Galapagos National Park Directorate and run by Fundación Jocotoco, will be a blueprint for other inhabited islands worldwide. The model will help bring back the island's original conditions through the re-establishment of the ecosystem's functions by controlling invasive species. Floreana's project also promises to impact the environment and local socioeconomic development positively.
Among the species reintroduced in Floreana Island are the Floreana Giant- Tortoise, Floreana Racer Snakes, Floreana Mockingbird, and Galapagos Hawks, among other species, as it is shown in the following infographic.
The reintroduction of the species will be determined by the experts who are researching to establish the health baseline of each species to define the order of reintroduction.
About the Ecological Restoration Project of Floreana Island
It is one of five projects run by Fundación Jocotoco in the Galapagos Islands as a technical partner of the Galapagos National Park Directorate in collaboration with the Agency of Regulation and Biosecurity Control and Quarantine for the Galapagos, the Ecuadorian Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. The Floreana Island Parish Board locally supports the project, the Municipal Government of San Cristobal, and the local community, among other non-governmental organizations.
