{"id":11167,"date":"2022-03-02t15:45:07","date_gmt":"2022-03-02t15:45:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dpetrov.2create.studio\/planet\/wordpress\/galapagos-2022-harnessing-the-power-of-travel-to-traverse-inequality\/"},"modified":"2023-05-12t17:46:16","modified_gmt":"2023-05-12t17:46:16","slug":"travel-equity-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/travel-equity-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"gal\u00e1pagos 2022 | harnessing the power of travel to traverse inequality"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

i recently returned from a 10-day expedition in the gal\u00e1pagos islands\u2014and, yes, all the rumors are true. this is a place like no other found on earth. each unique island of the archipelago, off the west coast of ecuador, is bursting with its own array of colorful endemic species, each equipped with specific adaptations for their varying environments. surrounding waters of san cristobal are lush with frolicking sea lions, the volcanic rocks of fernandina are covered in marine iguanas, and thousands of giant tortoises roam wild on santa cruz.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
\u200ba marine iguana expels excess salt water.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

i was given the opportunity to travel on board the national geographic endeavour ii with lindblad expeditions when i won planet forward\u2019s storyfest prize in 2020. and as the date of the voyage grew closer (delayed somewhat due to covid), i began to research potential topics that i could report on while in the archipelago. one area of interest that struck me was understanding how conservation efforts in the gal\u00e1pagos empowered local populations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

in school, many of us learn how the geographic isolation of these islands lead to its incredible array of endemic species. we learn about darwin\u2019s great voyage, about his theory of evolution that shaped modern day science. but what many of us don\u2019t learn about is that four of these islands are not only home to finches and frigates, but also populated by humans\u2014about 30,000 individuals in fact.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
a sleepy sea lion snoozes in the sun after a swim.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

navigating the fine line between environmental protection and human development is by no means easy. life as a gal\u00e1paganian is especially restrictive coming from a western point of view; buying a new car\u2014or even driving a personal car in the gal\u00e1pagos\u2014for example, is virtually impossible. since 97% of the islands are protected and restricted, except for those visiting through a tourism agency, many locals don\u2019t get to experience the isolated wilderness that foreigners see upon visiting. in fact, if locals wish to the remaining 97% of the islands \u2014 the protected and uninhabited islands \u2014 they must also go through a tourism agency. in the galapagos, one cannot visit national park territory without being part of a licensed tourism operation with a licensed naturalist. experiences like these, like on a cruise, cost a minimum of thousands of dollars<\/a>, preventing so many locals from ever having this opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
a blue-footed boobie with vibrant blue feet attempts to impress a potential mate.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

bolstering local communities and empowering the next generation are imperatives for long-term sustainable conservation. if people who live in the gal\u00e1pagos are not provided adequate opportunities to visit, explore, and learn about the importance of the islands, there is far less of an incentive to love, and thus conserve them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

i was pleased to learn that as part of their mission to use the power of travel for positive change, lindblad expeditions has raised more than $19 million<\/a> for conservation, scientific research, and local communities. lindblad is also a 100% carbon neutral<\/a> company. in the gal\u00e1pagos specifically, from 2019 to 2020 lindblad funded grants<\/a> for four different conservation organizations, focusing specifically on education, research, technology, and storytelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

additionally, since 1999 lindblad has participated in a gal\u00e1pagos national park program called explora gal\u00e1pagos, in which tourism companies partner with the program to bring local teachers, farmers, students, and other community members out to explore their home islands\u2019 wild and remote sites. the program\u2019s goal is simple: to educate about the unique archipelago and all it beholds, and to inspire stewardship of the islands.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
a gal\u00e1pagos sea lion eyes the photographer.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

i was curious to learn about exactly how participating in a lindblad expedition reflects onto local populations, and exactly what areas of conservation are a priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

on board the 96-guest equipped national geographic endeavour ii, i met adri\u00e1n vasquez, who works as a video chronicler, documenting our expedition. adri\u00e1n grew up on the island of san cristobal, and previously worked as a ministerial communications and video production advisor for the government council of gal\u00e1pagos, which focuses on improving social problems in the archipelago. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201clindblad in the past had only international video chroniclers, but now they only have local video chroniclers. that is very important,\u201d adri\u00e1n said. \u201cit shows that the local people are very important for the islands.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

in december 2020, lindblad in conjunction with island conservation<\/a>, an international nonprofit conservation organization, launched the galapagos island relief fund<\/a>, a program providing financial relief for gal\u00e1paganians impacted by the pandemic. sven lindblad, the founder and ceo of lindblad expeditions, explained when the program was announced, “stimulating the local economy through community micro-loans has the power to activate a thriving system\u2014helping entrepreneurs and small business owners develop new ideas to complement sustainable tourism and meeting the needs of the local community long after the pandemic is over.”<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
a juvenile gal\u00e1pagos hawk found us very curious.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

i am emboldened by the mission<\/span><\/a> of lindblad expeditions, after seeing firsthand the commitment of their team to work toward ecofriendly tourism solutions, rather simply aiming for profit, like many other enterprises. and i\u2019m hopeful that the next generation of naturalists, photographers, and educators have been inspired by their experience among the wilds of gal\u00e1pagos as much as i was.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
marine iguanas must warm their bodies in the sun after a swim in cold waters. their dark colors help them absorb heat quickly.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

when we think of the gal\u00e1pagos islands, we think of the incredible biodiversity that once inspired darwin\u2019s theory of evolution. but what many of us don\u2019t learn about is the humans who also live here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9846,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4930],"tags":[3715,206,4339,547,4500,591],"storyfest_categories":[],"class_list":["post-11167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science-communication","tag-ecotourism","tag-education","tag-galapagos","tag-lindblad-expeditions","tag-local-economy","tag-storyfest"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\ngal\u00e1pagos 2022 | harnessing the power of travel to traverse inequality - planet forward<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/travel-equity-experience\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_us\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"gal\u00e1pagos 2022 | harnessing the power of travel to traverse inequality - planet forward\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"when we think of the gal\u00e1pagos islands, we think of the incredible biodiversity that once inspired darwin\u2019s theory of evolution. but what many of us don\u2019t learn about is the humans who also live here.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/travel-equity-experience\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"planet forward\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/planetforward.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-03-02t15:45:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-05-12t17:46:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cate twining-ward\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@planet_forward\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@planet_forward\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cate twining-ward\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"article\",\"@id\":\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/travel-equity-experience\/#article\",\"ispartof\":{\"@id\":\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/travel-equity-experience\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cate twining-ward\",\"@id\":\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1a65fbeb7e3a8f245af7c564a21bbe66\"},\"headline\":\"gal\u00e1pagos 2022 | harnessing the power of travel to traverse inequality\",\"datepublished\":\"2022-03-02t15:45:07+00:00\",\"datemodified\":\"2023-05-12t17:46:16+00:00\",\"mainentityofpage\":{\"@id\":\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/travel-equity-experience\/\"},\"wordcount\":928,\"commentcount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"ecotourism\",\"education\",\"gal\u00e1pagos\",\"lindblad expeditions\",\"local economy\",\"storyfest\"],\"articlesection\":[\"science communication\"],\"inlanguage\":\"en-us\",\"potentialaction\":[{\"@type\":\"commentaction\",\"name\":\"comment\",\"target\":[\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/travel-equity-experience\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"webpage\",\"@id\":\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/travel-equity-experience\/\",\"url\":\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/travel-equity-experience\/\",\"name\":\"gal\u00e1pagos 2022 | harnessing the power of travel to traverse inequality - planet forward\",\"ispartof\":{\"@id\":\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/#website\"},\"datepublished\":\"2022-03-02t15:45:07+00:00\",\"datemodified\":\"2023-05-12t17:46:16+00:00\",\"inlanguage\":\"en-us\",\"potentialaction\":[{\"@type\":\"readaction\",\"target\":[\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/travel-equity-experience\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"website\",\"@id\":\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/\",\"name\":\"planet forward\",\"description\":\"inspiring stories to 2022年卡塔尔世界杯官网 \",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialaction\":[{\"@type\":\"searchaction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"entrypoint\",\"urltemplate\":\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"propertyvaluespecification\",\"valuerequired\":true,\"valuename\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inlanguage\":\"en-us\"},{\"@type\":\"organization\",\"@id\":\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"planet forward\",\"url\":\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"imageobject\",\"inlanguage\":\"en-us\",\"@id\":\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/pf_main_primary_rgb-1-1.png\",\"contenturl\":\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/pf_main_primary_rgb-1-1.png\",\"width\":1264,\"height\":660,\"caption\":\"planet forward\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameas\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/planetforward.org\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/planet_forward\"]},{\"@type\":\"person\",\"@id\":\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1a65fbeb7e3a8f245af7c564a21bbe66\",\"name\":\"cate twining-ward\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"imageobject\",\"inlanguage\":\"en-us\",\"@id\":\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5d119ae25e9d56a718ee9a3a6b03683d?s=96&d=https%3a%2f%2fplanetforward.org%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2f2023%2f02%2funtitled-design-1-150x150.png&r=g\",\"contenturl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5d119ae25e9d56a718ee9a3a6b03683d?s=96&d=https%3a%2f%2fplanetforward.org%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2f2023%2f02%2funtitled-design-1-150x150.png&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cate twining-ward\"},\"description\":\"cate twining-ward holds a ba in environmental studies, geography, and sustainability from george washington university. she is a mpa candidate at columbia university's school of international and public affairs, studying environmental science and policy. cate was born australia and grew up in samoa and new york city,\u00a0she is originally danish and british. cate aims to tell stories to inspire positive climate action. she believes that effective communication can bridge the gap between scientists and policymakers, provoke new ways of approaching problems, and change problematic narratives.\",\"url\":\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/author\/cate-twining-ward\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ yoast seo plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"gal\u00e1pagos 2022 | harnessing the power of travel to traverse inequality - planet forward","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/travel-equity-experience\/","og_locale":"en_us","og_type":"article","og_title":"gal\u00e1pagos 2022 | harnessing the power of travel to traverse inequality - planet forward","og_description":"when we think of the gal\u00e1pagos islands, we think of the incredible biodiversity that once inspired darwin\u2019s theory of evolution. but what many of us don\u2019t learn about is the humans who also live here.","og_url":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/travel-equity-experience\/","og_site_name":"planet forward","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/planetforward.org","article_published_time":"2022-03-02t15:45:07+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-05-12t17:46:16+00:00","author":"cate twining-ward","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@planet_forward","twitter_site":"@planet_forward","twitter_misc":{"written by":"cate twining-ward","est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"article","@id":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/travel-equity-experience\/#article","ispartof":{"@id":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/travel-equity-experience\/"},"author":{"name":"cate twining-ward","@id":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1a65fbeb7e3a8f245af7c564a21bbe66"},"headline":"gal\u00e1pagos 2022 | harnessing the power of travel to traverse inequality","datepublished":"2022-03-02t15:45:07+00:00","datemodified":"2023-05-12t17:46:16+00:00","mainentityofpage":{"@id":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/travel-equity-experience\/"},"wordcount":928,"commentcount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/#organization"},"keywords":["ecotourism","education","gal\u00e1pagos","lindblad expeditions","local economy","storyfest"],"articlesection":["science communication"],"inlanguage":"en-us","potentialaction":[{"@type":"commentaction","name":"comment","target":["\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/travel-equity-experience\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"webpage","@id":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/travel-equity-experience\/","url":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/travel-equity-experience\/","name":"gal\u00e1pagos 2022 | harnessing the power of travel to traverse inequality - planet forward","ispartof":{"@id":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/#website"},"datepublished":"2022-03-02t15:45:07+00:00","datemodified":"2023-05-12t17:46:16+00:00","inlanguage":"en-us","potentialaction":[{"@type":"readaction","target":["\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/travel-equity-experience\/"]}]},{"@type":"website","@id":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/#website","url":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/","name":"planet forward","description":"inspiring stories to 2022年卡塔尔世界杯官网 ","publisher":{"@id":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/#organization"},"potentialaction":[{"@type":"searchaction","target":{"@type":"entrypoint","urltemplate":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"propertyvaluespecification","valuerequired":true,"valuename":"search_term_string"}}],"inlanguage":"en-us"},{"@type":"organization","@id":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/#organization","name":"planet forward","url":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/","logo":{"@type":"imageobject","inlanguage":"en-us","@id":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/pf_main_primary_rgb-1-1.png","contenturl":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/pf_main_primary_rgb-1-1.png","width":1264,"height":660,"caption":"planet forward"},"image":{"@id":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameas":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/planetforward.org","https:\/\/x.com\/planet_forward"]},{"@type":"person","@id":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1a65fbeb7e3a8f245af7c564a21bbe66","name":"cate twining-ward","image":{"@type":"imageobject","inlanguage":"en-us","@id":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5d119ae25e9d56a718ee9a3a6b03683d?s=96&d=https%3a%2f%2fplanetforward.org%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2f2023%2f02%2funtitled-design-1-150x150.png&r=g","contenturl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5d119ae25e9d56a718ee9a3a6b03683d?s=96&d=https%3a%2f%2fplanetforward.org%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2f2023%2f02%2funtitled-design-1-150x150.png&r=g","caption":"cate twining-ward"},"description":"cate twining-ward holds a ba in environmental studies, geography, and sustainability from george washington university. she is a mpa candidate at columbia university's school of international and public affairs, studying environmental science and policy. cate was born australia and grew up in samoa and new york city,\u00a0she is originally danish and british. cate aims to tell stories to inspire positive climate action. she believes that effective communication can bridge the gap between scientists and policymakers, provoke new ways of approaching problems, and change problematic narratives.","url":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/author\/cate-twining-ward\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11167"}],"collection":[{"href":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9846"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11167"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11167\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11167"},{"taxonomy":"storyfest_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/storyfest_categories?post=11167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}