Rapa Nui National Park - Easter Island
Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, is a Polynesian colony of Chile.
Parque Nacional Rapa Nui was classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage site on December 8, 1995.
Parque Nacional Rapa Nui does not have any carbon offsetting projects according to EJAtlas.
Rapa Nui Parliament, Council of Elders. Supported in their self-determination efforts by the Indian Law Resource Centre: https://indianlaw.org/rapa-nui/home
The Ma’u Henua Indigenous Community, the largest Indigenous organization in Chile, now manages the park: https://rapanuinationalpark.com/en/who-we-are/#:~:text=In%20March%202018%2C%20through%20a,the%20world%20heritage%20it%20is.
In 2016, a training course on Fisheries Management and Conservation of Easter Island Marine Resources was held between members of the Mesa del Mar “Te Mau o te Vaikava o Rapa Nui", the Development Committee of Easter Island (Codeipa), the Undersecretary of Fisheries and Aquaculture (Subpesca), the National Fisheries Service (Sernapesca), and the Chilean Navy.[1]
From 2008 to 2015, The Rapa Nui Landscapes of Construction project was an archeological research and archival project of the UCL Institute of Archaeology, the University of Manchester, the University of Bournemouth, the Chilean National Parks Authority, Rapa Nui and the Museo Antropologico, Rapa Nui. Funding was provided by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (UK) and the British Academy.[2]
The Cousteau Society has been funding and undertaking a project to ‘Restore Rapa Nui.’ The website states that it works with local community groups and schools to reform the Poike Peninsula from erosion and degradation. Along with the planting of 1,400,000 trees, The Cousteau Society has created an environmental education and training program for locals “so they learn how to best care for their land."[3]
French NGO Klorane Botanical Foundation worked with the National Forestry Corporation on a project to conserve 60% of the island’s flora by creating a botanical conservation zone covering more than 4,000m2, a seed bank, as well as a series of traditional buildings. The project website states that they encourage local people to engage with ancestral plant knowledge in conservation work.[4]
The World Monuments Fund has also supported the Easter Island (Rapa Nui)—Moai Conservation Project and remains active in archeological preservation.[5]
* Note: Given the internationally recognized archeological significance of Rapa Nui Indigenous history, the protected area has had countless NGO and academic interest in its conservation. This is therefore an inexhaustible list, based on what is easily accessible via non-exhaustive Internet research.
The Ma’u Henua Indigenous Community, the largest Indigenous organization in Chile which since 2016 has been responsible for co-managing (with the Chilean National Forest Corporation) and then from 2018 fully managing Rapa Nui National Park. According to the Park’s website, the Ma’u Henua Indigenous Community is composed of a Board of Directors elected by the Rapa Nui people through voting. Some Indigenous communities are critical of how this management structure has been established without adequate consultation.
Gabriel Armando Tuki Tuki is the current president.
Website: https://rapanuinationalpark.com/
Email: contacto@rapanuinationalpark.com
Phone: +56 322550455
Corporación Nacional Forestal (CONAF) or the Chilean National Forest Corporation used to be the National Environmental Agency in charge of Rapa Nui National Park. However, in March 2018, the Chilean State handed over full administration of the Park – 43% of the territory – to the Rapa Nui people, who are currently managed by the Ma’u Henua Indigenous Community.
In September 2020, American Express announced $1 million in funding to support preservation efforts at seven 2020 Watch sites, including Rapa Nui National Park.[1]
Following the 2022 arsonist attack and subsequent wildfires fires that devastated Rapa Nui, UNESCO initiated the project "Assessment of Fire Damage in Rapa Nui National Park and Development of a Comprehensive Risk Management Plan for the World Heritage Site" allocating $97,000 towards damage assessment, future risk management, and education for Rapa Nui from the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund.[2]
Rapa Nui is an island within the southeast Pacific Ocean, and forms the easternmost part of the Polynesian Triangle. The Indigenous Rapa Nui peoples migrated to their homelands through the ancient Pacific voyaging fleets from as early as 400 AD (according to recent linguistic studies, although Western science does not necessarily corroborate with Indigenous Pacific temporal knowledge. Rapa Nui are widely known for their creation of large and sacred monuments called ‘moai’ which are a representation of significant ancestors.
Rapa Nui first came into contact with European colonists in the 18th century and was targeted by Peruvian slave raids in the 1860s within a history known to the Pacific as black-birding. The island was annexed by Chile in 1888 by way of a treaty with Indigenous chiefs. However, much like the treaty history of New Zealand, the Indigenous language text states that chieftainship would remain whereas the Spanish text assumes that sovereignty was ceded. Colonization has been incredibly devastating; in 1892, there were only 101 Rapa Nui alive, and subsequent histories (particularly under the Pinochet dictatorship) have seen broken treaty promises and the second-class treatment of Rapa Nui citizens. Still, Rapa Nui has led a powerful resistance movement for self-determination and the protection/strengthening of their cultural and ecological heritage ever since.[1]
Rapa Nui National Park was established by the Chilean Government in 1935 and Indigenous communities were forced off their lands and confined to a reserve area outside the capital city of Hanga Roa. Colonial myths around Indigenous people previously cutting down trees leading to an ‘ecocide’ helped propel fortress conservation on the island. Despite the ecological interests of the protected area, Rapa Nui as a whole has suffered from pollution and resource depletion due to tourism and negligence from the Chilean Government. Revenues from the National Park (largely through tourism) were funneled into the mainland as opposed to the Rapa Nui communities.[2]
Following protests from Rapa Nui communities against the National Forest Corporation, in November 2017, the Chilean state finally handed management of the Rapa Nui National Park over to the Ma’u Henua Indigenous community. As a concession, however, the government also created the National Indigenous Development Corporation, ultimately undermining and ignoring the Rapa Nui’s right to collective ownership of their territory.[3]
On 15th August 2015, two leaders of the Rapa Nui Parliament (an Indigenous resistance group for Rapa Nui self-determination) by the names Leviante Araki and Mario Tuki, were arrested for impeding access to the ceremonial site of Orongo to a group of tourists who had not agreed to pay the entrance to the Parliament of Rapa Nui.[1] The Chilean Ministry of the Interior subsequently closed the Parliament of Rapa Nui and deployed police forces across the island to repress any further organizing. In 2015, the Indian Law Resource Centre supported a claim to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) aimed at seeking recognition of Indigenous rights to collective property over the whole territory.
While the transfer of park management to the Ma’u Henua Indigenous Community in 2018 represents an important step towards Indigenous land repatriation, it still falls short of the IACHR's demands for full collective property. In 2020, the management of the National Park by Ma’u Henua was subject to scrutiny from other Indigenous community members due to embezzled funds and corruption, leading to a courtroom being set on fire in local protests.[2]
In 2022, a fire spread through 100 acres of Rapa Nui destroying some moai. A lack of emergency resources on the island worsened its spread. It is believed to have been started by an arson attack.[3]
Tourism plays a significant role in the financial management of Rapa Nui National Park, with over 160,000 tourists visiting each year before the COVID-19 pandemic, however, this has been to the detriment of Indigenous livelihoods. Luxury resorts contribute to pollution on the island and have recently been subject to Indigenous protests for the reclamation of their lands.
Chilean Environmental Laws: Laws focus on the conservation and sustainable use of resources. However, these laws do not account for the ancestral rights of Indigenous communities.
The Chilean Law 19,253 of 1993 on the Promotion, Protection, and Development of Indigenous Peoples, however, this has been subject to scrutiny for not meeting current International standards such as that under the ILO Convention 169.[1]
In 2022, a fire spread through 100 acres of Rapa Nui destroying some moai. A lack of emergency resources on the island worsened its spread. It is believed to have been started by an arson attack.[1]
In 2022, Chile held a referendum for the revision of its Pinochet-era constitution in which Mapuche and Rapa Nui communities were consulted on the inclusion of Indigenous rights provisions, including that of self-governance. However, the referendum was accused of being too ‘leftist’ and failed by a 62% majority. In 2023, a new draft constitution was proposed which had been led by Chile’s far-right Republican Party. Indigenous advocates have criticized it as being worse than the Pinochet-era model and are calling for its rejection.[2]