Ministry Begins Process to Declare Lonesome George a Cultural Heritage

Lonesome George

The Heritage Department Coordinator gave special recognition to Lonesome George. During the formal session for the 53 years of creation of the Galapagos National Park, Deputy Juan Carlos Coellar issued a resolution that rescues the symbolic, natural, cultural and scientific value in this issue, the only species Chelonoidis abingdoni and died on 24 June.

Article 1 of this document points to Lonesome “as a symbol of the struggle for natural heritage conservation in the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador and the planet as well as emblematic element of collective memory and cultural identity of the population of the Islands”. Coellar emphasized that, for now, is not a declaration of cultural heritage. “It’s a recognition of the special biodiversity and in particular Galapagos has this unique species is found in the 70’s, the Pinta, which was maintained for 25 years in the Park”.

However, this provision, which was signed by Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa, is the first step for the National Institute of Cultural Heritage initiated technical and administrative proceedings to declare and inventory the remains of the specimen as part of the State Cultural Heritage, “to be of interest to science and natural history of the Galapagos, according to the relevant provisions of the Bill on Cultural Heritage.” (FL)