Welcome to the Center for Galapagos Studies

  To address the current challenges facing the Galapagos Islands such as population growth, resource conflict, and economic development, a collaborative partnership has been created between the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA and the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador. The partnership is designed to foster research, education, and outreach programs in the islands, but whose vision extends to the mainland, region, and world.

  The UNC Center for Galapagos Studies will address the complex interactions among social, terrestrial, and marine environments through an integrated perspective that couples human and natural systems. Geo-spatial technologies are emphasized, as disparate data are used to assess people, environment, and their interactions across the social, natural, and spatial sciences.

  The Center will link to local, national, and international organizations and institutions. UNC-Chapel Hill has Memoranda of Understanding with the Galapagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Foundation, as well as with our partner university, the Universidad San Francisco de Quito. An interdisciplinary emphasis will guide the activities, and the study of social, terrestrial, and marine sub-systems in a World Heritage Site as a model for understanding similarly challenged environments around the World.