Plundering paradise

Description:

Mention the Galapagos Islands to almost anyone, and the first things that spring to mind are iguanas, tortoises, volcanic beaches, and, of course, Charles Darwin. But there are people living there, too -- nearly 20,000 of them. A wild stew of nomads and grifters, dreamers and hermits, wealthy tour operators and desperately poor South American refugees, these inhabitants have brought crime, crowding, poaching, and pollution to the once-idyllic islands. In Plundering Paradise, Michael D'Orso explores the conflicts on land and at sea that now threaten to destroy this fabled "Eden of Evolution."

subjects: Nature,  Nonfiction,  Travel,  Politics and government,  Environmental degradation,  Economic conditions,  Environmental protection,  Effect of human beings on,  Motion pictures, biography,  Women, united states, biography,  Nature -- Effect of human beings on -- Galapagos Islands,  Environnement,  Conditions économiques,  Umweltbelastung,  Dégradation,  Influence sur la nature,  Protection,  Umweltschutz,  Humanökologie,  Politique et gouvernement,  Homme,  Economic history

Places: Galapagos Islands,  Ecuador

Times: 1984-