The Galápagos Islands are a long way from this Andean capital, but their political presence here can seem immediate indeed. Just ask César Narváez, who resigned this month as Ecuador’s environment minister amid criticism his government was short-circuiting tourism and fishing restrictions imposed under the Galápagos Special Law. The Special Law has undergirded Galápagos conservation policy since it was enacted in 1998. It created a 51,000-sq-mile (133,000-sq-km) marine reserve around the islands and empowered Galápagos National Park authorities to enforce Special-Law restrictions on fishing, tourism and other activities in the reserve and the park, which encompasses 97% of Galápagos land. The law also created a multi-stakeholder board to help the park oversee implementation of the legislation. Green groups... [Log in to read more]