Institutional Context

Adapted from Galapagos Organizations, Watkins and Martinez (under revision for publication in the Galapagos Report 2007-2008)

Achieving an effective institutional environment is complicated in small islands with close-knit communities due to: 1) the difficulty in establishing economies of scale making organizations less efficient and less cost effective; 2) the difficulty in separating political actors from administrators; and 3) the scarcity of highly skilled and capable people. Consequently, it is often difficult to achieve effective management of human relations in islands.

In general, little attention has been paid to the organizational frameworks in Galapagos, which has resulted in haphazard and rapid growth in institutions and organizations. The 2001 Galapagos Regional Plan included programs and projects to revise and strengthen organizations to reduce conflict, clarify areas of action, and increase efficiency. At the same time, it highlighted weak leadership, political instability, and political patronage as risks to improved human relationships.

Since 1980, the number of organizations working in Galapagos has grown rapidly resulting in an increasingly complex and inefficient governance framework. In 2008, 75 government organizations with 134 functioning work places in the Galapagos Islands were identified. Total government expenditures in Galapagos grew from an estimated $10M in 1997 to over $40M in 2007 (data from SISSEC, SIGGEF and the Galapagos Report 2001-2002).

The 1998 Special Law for Galapagos identifies the National Institute for Galapagos (INGALA) as the central planning organization and the INGALA Council as the policy setting and coordinating body for the Galapagos Islands. However, leadership of INGALA has been unstable, the planning capacity of the institution has been weak, and the INGALA Council membership is not sufficiently representative of the complex government and civil society in Galapagos.

Over the last 20 years, civil society in Galapagos has also become increasingly complex. An analysis of the dates of formation of existing civil society organizations (excluding those that were established and then disappeared) shows that their growth has been similar to the proliferation of central government organizations.

These features of Galápagos make developing a shared vision for the future of the archipelago very difficult.

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