Photo: Hammerheads Darwin Jonathan
No research facility is complete without the tools needed to track, model and visualize information and data. At GSC’s Data Science & Visualization Laboratory, geographic information systems (GIS), scientific data visualization, mapping and GPS representation, and spatial and statistical modeling are emphasized. Computers, plotters, scanners and specialized software platforms are available for scientists, students and the local community involved in our outreach programs.
As the backbone of our research at GSC, this lab enables everything from habitat mapping and species monitoring to modeling threats and visualizing patterns across the islands.
Integrating Data, Geography, and Ecology
Photo: Andrew Russell
Mapping the Future of the Galápagos
Photo: Joshua Vela
Monitoring and mapping of habitat and spatial analysis of migratory, endemic, and introduced species in Galapagos.
Monitoring and mapping of threats to Galápagos due to plastic pollution.
Biogeographic history of endemic plants such as the Guayabillo in Galápagos.
Observatory of climate change in the islands.
Mapping of habitats of importance located in rural ecosystems.
Use of drones to create real-time mapping and construction of future predictive models of the distribution of native and introduced species.
Land use.
High resolution study on microclimates of various plant zones on San Cristóbal Island.
Monitoring and control of companion and feral animals in urban areas.
Development of proposals to help advise touristic routes in Galápagos.
Photo:
Photo: Greenpeace
Join Our Mission
In 2022, the Galapagos Science Center (GSC) and the broader UNC & USFQ Galapagos Initiative will celebrate its 10th Anniversary. We are proud to announce the World Summit on Island Sustainability scheduled to be held on June 26–30, 2022 at the Galapagos Science Center and the Community Convention Center on San Cristobal Island.
The content of the World Summit will be distributed globally through social media and results documented through papers published in a book written as part of the Galapagos Book Series by Springer Nature and edited by Steve Walsh (UNC) & Carlos Mena (USFQ) as well as Jill Stewart (UNC) and Juan Pablo Muñoz (GSC/USC). The book will be inclusive and accessible by the broader island community including scientists, managers, residents, tourists, and government and non-government organizations.
While the most obvious goal of organizing the World Summit on Island Sustainability is to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the GSC and the UNC-USFQ Galapagos Initiative, other goals will be addressed through special opportunities created as part of our operational planning of the World Summit.
For instance, we seek to elevate and highlight the Galapagos in the island conservation discourse, seeking to interact with other island networks in more obvious and conspicuous ways to benefit the Galapagos Islands, the UNC-USFQ Galapagos Initiative, and the world. We will seize the opportunity to further develop the I2N2 – International Islands Network-of-Networks. Further, we wish to highlight and emphasize multiple visions of a sustainable future for the Galapagos Islands and we cannot do this alone. Therefore, engaging the Ecuadorian Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Tourism, the Government Council of Galapagos, the Galapagos National Park, and local Galapagos authorities, including government and non-government organizations and local citizen groups, is imperative.
Borrowing from Hawaii’s and Guam’s Green Growth Program and the Global Island Partnership, we wish to examine existing global programs that emphasize island sustainability and their incorporation into life, policies, and circumstances in the Galapagos Islands. We will also seek to enhance our connections with the institutional members of our International Galapagos Science Consortium and expand the Consortium through the recruitment of other member institutions. We will also work to benefit islands and their local communities by working with citizen groups as well as important NGOs who seek to improve the natural conditions in the Galapagos and diminish the impact of the human dimension on the future of Galapagos’ ecosystems.
Lastly, we will use the World Summit to benefit UNC & USFQ and our constituencies through a strong and vibrant communication plan about the World Summit, creating corporate relationships as sponsors, identifying funding goals through donors, and benefiting our study abroad program for student engagement in the Galapagos Islands. We plan to develop and issue a Galapagos Sustainability Communique after the World Summit that includes the vision and insights of all its participants for a sustainable Galapagos with applicability to global island settings.
We are eager to hear your perspective and have you join us at the World Summit on Island Sustainability!