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The second progress meeting of the ISLAS_MINGA (EU funded project through the INCO-DC) project was held in San Andres (Colombian Carribean) from 30/10-3/11/2000. The project is dealing mainly with the Marine Resources Management and the designation of Marine Protected Areas in the areas of the Archipelago of San Andres, Old Providence and Santa Catalina (Colombian Carribean) and in the Galapagos Archipelagos (Equador). The two European partners namely the Herriot-Watt Univ. in Edinburgh and the Institute of Marine Biology of Crete are participating in the project as "know-how" providers for Coastal Zone management to the Latin America partners which are the Charles Darwin Research Station in Galapagos and the CORALINA Corporation in San Andres. Dr. K. Siakavara as responsible scientist from IMBC participated in the meeting of the project partners and also in the meetings of the local fora (fishermen, tourist enterprises) that have been established for the elaboration of the "Participatory Management Plan" of the areas. An important moment of these meetings was when CORALINA announced that these days the " Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme of UNESCO" approved the biosphere reserve nomination of the Archipelagos. Thus, the "Seaflower Biosphere Reserve" is the newest member of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves.   Background to the Project The Galapagos Islands are volcanic islands located 570 miles (960km) off the coast of Ecuador and consist of 13 large islands, six small islands and forty two islets. The protected waters of the Marine Reserve of Galapagos occupy a vast seventy thousand square kilometres. As a result of its geographical position relative to a number of important nutrient rich currents, Galapagos is blessed with an incredibly rich biodiversity of marine life. This rich biodiversity has an immediate impact on socio-economics within these islands in terms of fisheries exploitation and tourism. In recent years the importance of a tightly controlled fisheries system within the Galapagos has been emphasised for not only has it potential sustainable economic benefit through careful exploitation but the integrity of the marine system has a clear and obvious impact on Galapagos as a tourist destination. Tourism to Galapagos in particular is a strategic economic resource that contributes to the economic well being and stability of Ecuador. Tourism has been estimated as making a yearly contribution of $26 million, which is 75% of the total local economic. It is also the main source of economic benefit for inhabitants of Galapagos. Underlying all of this is the core belief that the Galapagos must be managed with the primary goal of conserving its flora and fauna, and ecological processes upon which this life depends. There are approximately 265 fishing boats, 600 fishermen, 100 tour boats and over 60,000 tourists annually. San Andres, Colombia is located in the Caribbean Sea 800km from the Colombian coast and 150km from that of Nicaragua. It is the biggest island of the Colombian archipelago also comprising Providencia and Santa Catalina occupying approximately 25 square kilometres. The tourism industry is the major income generator for the island especially with its declaration as a free port in 1953. However, this favourable trading status was lost in 1991 with the result that San Andres now has to rely primarily on its environmental attractions to compete with other island tourist destinations in the Caribbean. Statistics show, however, that the number of tourists visiting the island have been radically decreasing (e.g. San Andres had a market capitalisation of only 1% of the total international tourist trade to the Caribbean region in 1995). This inevitably has damaged the island's economy, also leading to a rise in unemployment. Interviews with tourists and tour operators have indicated that poor environmental quality has played a major part in this decline. Tourist numbers approximate around 400,000/year of which 90% are Colombian nationals. Research undertaken in the island has indicated that coral reef health is in decline with evidence of overfishing, nutrient loading, sedimentation and litter. General Objectives of the Research For the islands of the Galapagos, Ecuador and San Andres, Colombia, the project partners investigate the potential for increased co-operation between different stakeholders in the pursuit of policies and actions which aim to promote conservation and sustainable use of available resources for the benefit of all involved without jeopardising conservation priorities or the biodiversity of marine ecosystems. The research aims to strengthen and promote local capabilities for conflict resolution and co-management of resource utilisation and conservation; strengthen and promote local capacity in parallel with education, science and management; and provide sound technical information for informed conservation and management decisions.

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