Galapagos Islands Under Threat

The giant tortoises are not happy. The blue-footed boobies are down in the dumps. And the iguanas have seen better days.

The Galapagos Islands, which have been a World Heritage site for 30 years, are now under threat.

Located 1,000 km (620 miles) off Ecuador's mainland, the islands are home to a spectacularly diverse array of wildlife unlike any in the world and were famously studied by Charles Darwin early in the 19th century.

Among the problems facing the islands are illegal fishing and overpopulation. The fragile eco system is also being threatened by the introduction of external species of flora and fauna that go hand in hand with the rapid development of the islands.

At the prompting of President Rafael Correa, UNESCO is sending specialists to study the islands in order to determine how best to deal with these problems.