Ecuador: Galápagos Islands
Score: 50

Earning a modest rebound of six points this year after a 23-point drop between 2004 and 2006 suggests alarming trends in cruise-boat traffic and inappropriate development are being addressed. "Overpopulation by tourists and tourism facilities are a serious threat to the very product that is most spectacular." Other concerns: degradation of local waters, introduction of invasive species. Still, an "amazing" sight.

Here is a representative sampling of additional anonymous comments from the panelists. They are not necessarily the views of the National Geographic Society:

"Larger cruise ships present a problem, both for tourists and the environment. Population growth and invasive species will be an ongoing concern."

"The marine environment is most seriously threatened. Tremendous funding and management effort is directed to issues on land, while the marine life continues to be overexploited. This is the last stronghold, the last sanctuary, for many marine organisms."

"Needs serious attention to illegal immigration, mass tourism, and zoning, and control of tourism development, sewage, solid waste and runoff, and illegal fishing. Also, better guide training, interpretation, and control of tour boats and their activities."

"The boatloads of 'ecotourists,' with their effluent, are destroying the very ecology they have come to tour."

"Future will depend on the development of strict policies regarding the number of tourists that can visit, tour operations and programming, and park conservation efforts."