The Galápagos were declared Nationa

The Galápagos were declared National Park in 1959, protecting 97.5% of the land area of the archipelago. The remaining area is occupied by human settlements that already existed at the time of the declaration. By then, about 1000-2000 people lived in four islands. In 1972, a census found that 3488 people lived in Galápagos, but in 1980 this number had dramatically increased to more than 20,000.

In 1986 the sea surrounding the islands was declared marine reserve. UNESCO included at Galápagos in the list of World Heritage in 1978, and in December 2001 This declaration was extended to the marine reserve.