Postcard from The Galapagos
來自加拉帕戈斯群島的明信片
On Charles Darwin’s former stomping ground、it’s war between commerce and conservation. Survival of the fittest on Isabela Island.
伊莎貝拉島，一個適者生存的小島。這個達爾文(Charles Darwin)身前最愛去的地方，正上演著商業和保育之間的戰爭，
If you roam Isabella、the largest of Ecuador’s fabled Galapagos Islands、you can still soak up the volcanic vistas and eccentric fauna that captivated Charles Darwin and helped inspire his theory of evolution.
如果你在伊莎貝拉島，這個在厄瓜多爾傳說中，最大的加拉帕戈斯小島上漫遊的話，你還能讓身心浸透在這裡的火山景觀，欣賞當初讓達爾文著迷不已並助他啟發進化論的古怪動物群。
Near the Puerto Villamil harbor、blue-footed boobies nest. Cat-size marine iguanas ply the pacific waters and brackish lagoons while endangered Galapagos penguins- the only penguins that live on the equator- waddle among the black lava rocks.
在維利亞米爾港不遠處，有藍腳塘鵝的巢，有像貓一樣大的海鬣蜥在太平洋和鹹水潟湖中定期來回，有瀕臨絕種的加拉帕戈斯企鵝(唯一住在赤道上的企鵝)在黑色火山石上蹣跚而行。
If there’s any hope left for the Galapagos、says Ermanno Zecchettin、an Italian hotelier who arrived on isabela 18 years ago、「it’s here.」
Ermanno Zecchettin是十八年前來到伊莎貝拉島的旅館老闆，他認為伊莎貝拉島是加拉帕戈斯群島最後的希望。
But even Isabela may not escape the degradation that the rest of the Galapagos archipelago、perhaps the world’s most treasured natural site、has witnessed in recent decades.
加拉帕戈斯群島可能是世界最珍貴的自然景點，但過去數十年的惡化皆有目共睹，連伊莎貝拉島大概也無法逃過一劫。
Two elegant tourist hotels just went up in Puerto Villamil、and while the owners deny it、the Ecuadoran government says each was built in violation of environmental codes.
不久前，兩棟漂亮的觀光旅館在維利亞米爾港落成，即使旅館所有人都矢口否認，厄瓜多爾政府說這兩棟旅館都違反了環境保護法。
One、the Isabela Spa、poured concrete into a protected flamingo nesting site. The other sits atop a crossing for marine iguanas — and has the chutzpah to call itself Iguana Crossing.
旅館其一的伊莎貝拉Spa旅館(Isabela Spa)將混凝土倒進了紅鶴的產卵保護區；另一棟則座落於海鬣蜥的來回路徑上，還厚顏無恥的將旅館命名為鬣蜥過境(Iguana Crossing)。
Meanwhile、invasive plants like blackberry bushes、carried in from the South American mainland 600 miles ( 1,000 km ) to the east、are strangling fragile native vegetation.
在這同時，從南美大陸600英里(1000公里)以東之處，帶來了黑苺樹等侵略性植物，這些侵略性植物正在扼殺當地的脆弱植物。
The Galapagos、the 19 islands that opened Darwin's eyes to natural selection in the 19th century、face a survival-of-the-fittest test in the 21st.
加拉帕戈斯群島在十九世紀讓達爾文見識到物競天擇，卻在二十一世紀面臨適者生存的考驗。
Rampant growth (the population has doubled since 2000、to about 30,000 people) and unbridled tourism (the annual number of visitors has leapt tenfold since 1980、to almost 175,000 in 2008) have battered the biological outpost so badly that the U.N. in 2007 placed it on the list of endangered World Heritage sites.
人口的瘋狂成長(現約三萬人，是2000年的兩倍)以及無管制的觀光業(2008年的旅客為175,000上下，是1980年的十倍)都讓這個偏遠的生物島嶼受到極度的破壞，導致聯合國在2007年將此地列為瀕危世界遺產。
The U.N. is set to decide in July whether to lift that designation、but "pressures on the ecosystem are increasing," says Gabriel Lopez、executive director of the Charles Darwin Foundation on Santa Cruz Island. "And despite important government efforts、they are becoming much more difficult to manage. The growth trends are worrying."
聯合國在七月要決定是否要解除這項稱號，但是聖克魯斯島達爾文基金會的執行總監Gabriel Lopez說：「生態系統所受到的壓力越來越大，儘管政府盡力嘗試，這些壓力越來越難以管理，其增長趨勢讓人憂心。」
The Galapagos have been menaced since before Darwin's day、and as a result、in 1968、Ecuador put 97% of the islands' territory off-limits to settlers and tourists. But the recent explosion in the numbers of humans and invasive species on the remaining 3% is doing widespread damage.
Fishermen have nearly wiped out Galapagos sea cucumbers (a delicacy in Asia)、and the larvae of a newly arrived fly、Philornis downsi、prey on the hatchlings of the famous Darwin's finches. On the Darwin Foundation campus、says Lopez、those birds are suffering "100% mortality."
漁夫們幾乎將加拉帕戈斯群島附近的海參(亞洲的珍饈)一掃而空， Philornis downsi這種新進蒼蠅的幼蟲又以達爾文雀的雛鳥為食；Lopez說這些鳥兒的死亡率是100%。
The big question is whether the left-wing government of Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa is up to saving the Galapagos.
最重要的問題是，厄瓜多爾總統拉斐爾·科雷亞(Rafael Correa)的左翼政府是否準備有能力拯救加拉帕戈斯群島？
The U.N. has noted some progress. Illegal migration to the archipelago has been curbed. Recycling and other green campaigns have begun on the islands、and ships leaving Guayaquil、Ecuador、for the Galapagos must now be disinfected. Pinzon Island has been restored enough to allow the reintroduction of giant tortoises this month.
聯合國有注意到該國的一些進度：該群島上的非法移民已加以控制、島嶼上也開始了回收以及其他環保運動、從瓜亞基爾和厄瓜多爾前往加拉帕戈斯群島的船隻現在都需要消毒、平松島(Pinzon Island)已回復到足以在本月再度引進巨型龜的程度。
But Patrimony Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa concedes that the administration still needs to get ahead of the curve on issues like illegal hotel construction.
即使如此，遺產部長Maria Fernanda Espinosa承認他們的管理部門還需要在處理非法旅館建設等問題上取得優良表現。
"There will be zero tolerance," she pledges. "There's a [limit] to how far the Galapagos economy can keep growing、and it's obvious there won't be enough for everyone."
她說：「我們決不容忍，加拉帕戈斯群島的經濟成長是有限度的，不足以讓所有人都分一杯羹。」
But is her message reaching as far as Puerto Villamil?
但是她的訊息能夠傳達到維利亞米爾港嗎？
Through his harborside office window、Mayor Bolivar Tupiza、a Correa ally、can see azure ocean waters; inside、the walls are covered with idyllic paintings of Galapagos wildlife. "Isabela should remain pristine," Tupiza insists. "We have a great deal of conscience about this."
Bolivar Tupiza是科雷亞總統的支援者，從港邊辦公室的窗戶看去，他能看到蔚藍的海水，牆壁上佈滿的田園畫中都是加拉帕戈斯群島的野生動物。Tupiza認為：「伊莎貝拉島必須保持其原始狀態，我們在這方面還有不少良心。」
But just outside、a tourism operator angrily complains to one municipal official about another、whom she accuses of undercutting her business and threatening to assault her.
不過在辦公室外，一名旅遊業者正向憤怒地向一名政府官員抗議，抗議另一名業者削減她的生意並且威脅要攻擊她。
If Ecuador isn't careful、the Galapagos could keep evolving in ways that are anything but pristine.
如果厄瓜多爾再不注意，加拉帕戈斯群島只會朝著非原始的方向進化。
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