Isabela: The Frontier Island

Located at the western edge of the Galapagos, Isabela is the largest island in the archipelago. Due in large part to its inaccessibility, it is also the least populated of the three major islands, with most of the 2,200 residents living in the settlement of Puerto Villamil.

Despite the relative isolation and low population, development has come to Isabela in recent years. The harbor is often filled with pleasure boats, and there are numerous hotels lining the white sandy beaches. Construction has also penetrated inland, with homes and hotels clustered along the edges of mangrove swamp and fields of volcanic basalt.

Unlike Santa Cruz and San Cristobal, Isabela does not have a comprehensive waste management plan. Historically, all of the islands waste has been dumped in a landfill located a few kilometers from Puerto Villamil. The unsanitary conditions of the landfill have bred rats, which in turn threaten endemic birds, and the iconic land tortoise.

Recently, a cooperative effort between the municipal government of Isabela and the national park has begun development and implementation of a more comprehensive waste management plan. This new plan has four stated goals: to figure out where to put the waste, to begin recycling, to save the fragile ecosystem of the island, and to protect the scarce groundwater resources.

Alam Romero of the municipal government has been spearheading the effort, which began with separation of the waste currently in the landfill. Six individuals have divided the accumulated waste into glass, plastic, cardboard, metals, organics and garbage. The second phase of the plan is to establish a new, sanitary landfill twelve kilometers from Puerto Villamil. “El Mango,” as it is known, will be located on 10 acres, and will be a great improvement on the current location.

As an environmental engineer, Romero was also a driving force in the design of the new facility. El Mango will include both recycling and trash sequestration efforts, with care taken to avoid negative impacts on the environment. Trash will be placed in large piles, which will subsequently be covered in soil and reseeded with endemic plants. Underneath these piles will be layers of impermeable plastic, and a natural filtration system of volcanic rocks to protect the groundwater from contamination.

The work on Isabela island is of great importance, as it is the last of the three major islands to begin work on a waste management program. Quick action is needed in order to preserve one of the most unique, and most vulnerable, ecosystems on the planet. Human impact on Isabela may be less than on Santa Cruz and San Cristobal, but it still exists. With more development on the way, it is important that Isabela begin to make strides towards more efficient and ecological handling of human generated waste.