GALAPAGOS NATIONAL PARK DIRECTOR FIRING MAY

C O N F I D E N T I A L GUAYAQUIL 000077

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/28/2018
TAGS: PGOV SENV EIND EC
SUBJECT: GALAPAGOS NATIONAL PARK DIRECTOR FIRING MAY
THREATEN CONSERVATION EFFORTS


Classified By: CONSUL GENERAL DOUGLAS GRIFFITHS FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND
(D)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Minister of the Environment Marcela Aguinaga
fired Galapagos National Park (GNP) Director Raquel Molina in
early March, alleging in the press that Molina was not
adequately protecting the park. In reality, the committed
but abrasive park director's repeated clashes with Aguinaga
and Galapagos Governor Eliecer Cruz over balancing economic
activities in the islands with environmental protection
sealed her fate. Molina brought a tough and legalistic
approach to protecting this unique ecosystem, fearlessly
taking on powerful and entrenched fishing and tourism
operators. Ironically, although Molina has brought much
needed stability to the park and significantly increased
patrolling and enforcement activities, the minister may be
setting her up as the scapegoat if Ecuador fails to get the
Galapagos off of UNESCO's Threatened World Heritage list in
July. Her as yet unknown replacement in the GNP is likely to
be much less of an obstacle to economic interests in the
islands, signaling a tough road ahead for those trying to
protect the Galapagos. END SUMMARY.

ENVIRONMENT MINISTER SACKS GALAPAGOS PARK DIRECTOR
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2. (U) In the first week of March, Minister of the
Environment Marcela Aguinaga flew to the Galapagos and
announced to Galapagos National Park (GNP) officials that she
was removing Park Director Raquel Molina from her post after
nearly two years in the job. She cited Molina's supposed
inability to "adapt to the daily routines of the job and the
ministry's priorities". Aguinaga also specifically accused
Molina of failing to implement adequate controls over the
Galapagos Marine Reserve. The minister subsequently
appointed Sixto Naranjo, a park official, as acting director.
Under park norms, the next director should be chosen in
accordance with strict technical criteria ) the same method
used to select Molina.


3. (C) Former Park Director Molina fired back at Aguinaga in
the local press a week later, noting that the minister had
not expressed any displeasure with her performance a month
earlier, when Molina presented her annual report to the
Galapagos Cooperators Table. "But now I am the worst to
her?" Molina wondered. She also defended her record in
protecting the marine reserve, pointing to statistics showing
increased patrols and more administrative actions taken
against illegal tourism and fishing activities under her
watch. Molina was the first GNP director in the past five
years to make it through a full calendar year without being
replaced. She later told Consul General Griffiths that she
was holding back "explosive information" about the minister's
conduct, in anticipation of future attacks by Aguinaga.

REAL ISSUE MOLINA'S REFUSAL TO GO ALONG WITH IMPROPER ACTS
--------------


4. (C) According to insiders and Molina herself, Molina's
true crime was not incompetence; instead, it was her
unwillingness to turn a blind eye to corruption and unlawful
activities in the park. Deborah Chiriboga, a well known
local environmental activist, told Poloff that Aguinaga
removed Molina after the former GNP director openly
questioned her decision to allow a 48-passenger tourist ship
to operate using two 16-passenger permits assigned to other
boats. According to park documents, a national tourism
company, Metropolitan Touring, owned by Roque Sevilla,
entered into an agreement with two local operators allowing
Sevilla's company to use their permits. The three parties
asked the GNP to bless the arrangement in late November 2007.
The GNP refused, citing park regulations prohibiting single
ships from bundling together multiple permits.


5. (C) The three operators subsequently complained to the
Ministry of the Environment. They returned to Molina on
February 25 with another letter asking for GNP approval. One
day later, Molina received a Ministry of the Environment
resolution ordering her to approve the request. Parts of
this document were identical to passages in the companies'
February 25 letter. Molina responded to Aguinaga the
following week, refusing to comply with the order and noting
that the tourism operators appeared to "already know the
contents of the resolution, which causes the GNP directorate
to worry about how some issues are handled in the Ministry."
Coincidentally, the tourism company's general manager told

the Consul General on February 26 that the company was
introducing a large new vessel into the Galapagos. When the
Consul General expressed surprise, the manager replied that
"everything's been arranged in Quito".


6. (C) Minister Aguinaga confirmed to USAID staff that she
and Molina disputed the permit, but firmly denied that this
was the ultimate cause of the dismissal, further asserting
that the permit is legal. She indicated that a letter to her
from Molina "that could be the basis of a libel suit" was
really the last straw.


7. (U) President Rafael Correa has ordered the GNP to
replace commercial tour operating permits with a concession
system for visitor services. Aguinaga and Correa have
reportedly imposed a May 1 deadline for a draft concession
plan.

LAST OF MANY CLASHES BETWEEN GNP DIRECTOR AND AUTHORITIES
--------------


8. (C) While the fight over the boating permits ultimately
got her fired, it was not the first time that committed
conservationist Molina butted heads with economic interests
in the Galapagos. Since being named GNP director in May
2006, Molina repeatedly clashed with tourism companies,
Galapagos fishing communities, local authorities, the
Ecuadorian navy, and at times, the central government over
illegal fishing and tourism in the islands. As a result of
her unwillingness to compromise her principles, she had many
enemies amongst those looking to exploit the economic
opportunities the islands offer. Minister Aguinaga
complained of Molina's failure to constructively engage local
governments and the private sector. Molina herself
recognized that her days were numbered when Correa appointed
Minister Aguinaga, with whom Molina had frequently clashed
when Aguinaga had a private legal practice representing
Galapagos tour operators, including Metropolitan Touring.


9. (C) Chiriboga believes that Molina's fate was sealed in
late February when GNP officials stopped a 21-person
Panamanian boat that was illegally fishing in the islands. A
fish processor owned by the president of Guayaquil's Chamber
of Fisheries had contracted the boat. According to
Chiriboga, Aguinaga was outraged by the action but unable to
do anything about it once the press caught wind of it. "She
came to the GNP to yell at Raquel," Chiriboga explained.
"During the meeting, Aguinaga received a call and told the
caller, 'I cannot do anything about this anymore because the
GNP already has the boat's exact coordinates.'" Molina was
also physically assaulted last year when she and other park
officials tried to prevent navy personnel from allowing
illegal activities in the park.

ANOTHER VICTORY FOR ECONOMIC INTERESTS IN THE GALAPAGOS
--------------


10. (C) COMMENT: Without a strong replacement ) an
unlikely outcome at this point ) Molina's firing will be a
blow to efforts to preserve the Galapagos's special ecology
and a victory for those who push for more economic
development in the islands. For years, Ecuador has struggled
to balance economic and environmental concerns in the
Galapagos. Despite clear legal limits on the number of
fishing licenses, boat permits and resident visas issued in
the Galapagos, corruption has allowed many to skirt the
regulations, and resulting environmental consequences have
been terrible. Although not always an experienced
administrator, Molina had a rare reputation for honesty and
cared passionately about protecting the environment in the
Galapagos. Her willingness to take on anyone and her refusal
to compromise her principles made her an important
counterweight to those representing the islands' economic
interests. But it was this same inflexibility and
hard-headedness that led to her downfall. With local
interests largely dominated by short-term economic
development, the GNP director is one of the few people on the
islands focused on defending the Galapagos ecosystem. If the
new director is not as committed to environmental protection
as Molina, the islands' future may indeed be in danger.
GRIFFITHS