In Plaza Sur, protective measures are bearing fruit - in the truest sense of the word

When you think of the Galápagos Islands, Plaza Sur is probably not the first place that comes to mind. The island, which is only 13 hectares in size, lies to the east of Santa Cruz and is not inhabited by humans. However, a groundbreaking discovery was made at this location, which is only visited by tourists and researchers, at the beginning of the year.

In February 2025, the “Galápagos Verde 2050” research team of the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF) carried out an expedition to Plaza Sur to check the progress of the Opuntia echios var. echios cactus seedlings planted there. To the great delight of the entire project, 68 naturally sprouting seedlings were found in close proximity to the protective structures of the artificially planted individuals. This is the first recorded natural growth of this species since 1957.

In the last 70 years or so, the native land iguanas, which feed on their seedlings and have caused a 60% decline in the population, have been the main problem. The disappearance of the Galápagos buzzard, which hunted the iguanas and thus regulated the population, did the rest. Now, however, a conservation program is raising hopes of a turnaround.

Since 2014, Plaza Sur has been the focus of the Charles Darwin Foundation's Galápagos Verde 2050 (GV2050) reforestation project, which has so far planted over 1,300 seedlings on the island with the help of rangers from the Galápagos National Park. Thanks to reforestation technologies that both accelerate the growth of the seedlings and keep hungry land iguanas away, 853 specimens are now thriving. A noticeable increase on the 334 from before the start of the project. In total, there are now at least 1,187 cacti in Plaza Sur (natural and artificial population).

Without protective measures, the annual growth of this species is only 2 cm. With the help of GV2050 technologies, this rate could be increased to an impressive 25 cm. As a result, the plants not only reach the critical height of 30 cm faster, where stronger spines grow and thus protect them better against land iguanas, but also enter their flowering phase earlier, which means that the cactus reproduces faster. 

The success of Plaza Sur shows that nature is gradually reclaiming its place. Through the interplay of natural processes and the active support of nature conservation programs such as GV2050.