The Galapagos oil spill

An oil spill in waters just half a mile (one kilometer) off one of the world's great bird sanctuaries, the Galapagos Islands, raises questions about how to safeguard waters of special scientific interest.

These islands administered by Ecuador are where Charles Darwin developed his theories of natural selection in 1835; the land mass has been made a national park to protect the 5,000 species of bird and beast, nearly half of them unique to the islands. Yet, while the islands themselves are sensitively protected, last Friday's accident shows that the waters around them are vulnerable.

One sensible way to extend protection to the seas has come from the World Wide Fund for Nature. It wants the Ecuadorean government and shippers to designate the Galapagos as a "particularly sensitive sea area" (PSSA). A PSSA would simply give Ecuador more clout than international law usually allows coastal states to impose good practice on passing ships.

The PSSA is a recent invention. Only two exist, one around Australia's Great Barrier Reef and the other off Cuba; their effectiveness is not yet proven. Yet it is time to restore common sense in the risky business of commercial shipping; though imperfect, a PSSA would be a good start.

-- The Times, London