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| Rapa Nui Marine Protected Area | |
|---|---|
| Name | Rapa Nui Marine Protected Area |
| Location | Easter Island, Chile, South Pacific Ocean |
| Established | 2018 |
| Area | ~720,000 hectares |
| Governing body | Ministry of the Environment (Chile), Subsecretariat of Fishing and Aquaculture (Chile) |
Rapa Nui Marine Protected Area is a large-scale marine conservation designation surrounding Easter Island that seeks to protect oceanic habitats, cultural seascapes, and endemic species in the southeastern Pacific Ocean. The designation resulted from multilateral negotiations involving Chilean agencies, indigenous Rapa Nui people, international conservation organizations, and scientific institutions. The MPA integrates objectives from regional marine policy, heritage protection, and international biodiversity targets.
The MPA was created to conserve marine ecosystems around Easter Island and Salas y Gómez, responding to pressures identified by stakeholders including the Rapa Nui Council of Elders, the Ministry of the Environment (Chile), the Subsecretariat of Fishing and Aquaculture (Chile), marine scientists from the Universidad de Chile, conservation NGOs such as WWF, Conservation International, and intergovernmental bodies like the United Nations Environment Programme. It aligns with targets pursued under the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and complements regional initiatives such as the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation and the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.
The MPA encompasses oceanic waters around Easter Island and proximate seamounts extending toward Salas y Gómez Island, covering roughly 700,000–720,000 hectares depending on boundary definitions used by Instituto de Fomento Pesquero researchers and cartographers from the Servicio Nacional de Pesca y Acuicultura (SERNAPESCA). The area includes the island shelf, deepwater slopes, submarine canyons, and volcanic structures mapped by expeditions from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. It sits within the Southeast Pacific biogeographic province and is influenced by currents such as the Humboldt Current and mesoscale eddies documented by NASA oceanographers and the European Space Agency.
The MPA protects habitats that support endemic reef assemblages and pelagic fauna documented by researchers from Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (PUC), the University of Hawaii, and the Australian Institute of Marine Science. Shallow volcanic reef systems are home to endemic fish taxa described by taxonomists associated with Smithsonian Institution ichthyology programs and crustacean specialists from the Natural History Museum, London. The region provides foraging grounds for migratory species monitored by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and BirdLife International, including populations of sooty tern, masked booby, and seabird species linked to studies by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. Pelagic megafauna such as humpback whale, blue whale, dolphin, and multiple shark species appear in telemetry work by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and tagging projects coordinated with Oregon State University. Deepwater corals and sponge communities discovered by deep-sea expeditions under the aegis of NOAA and the Chilean Antarctic Institute add to biodiversity values recognized by experts in the International Union for Conservation of Nature assessments.
Proposals for protection involved negotiation among the Rapa Nui Parliament, Chilean ministries including Ministry of the Environment (Chile), academic partners such as Universidad Católica, and NGOs including Greenpeace. The designation process drew on precedents like the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and the Phoenix Islands Protected Area and built on Chilean legislation such as the Maritime Territorial Law of Chile and regulations enforced by SERNAPESCA. Governance arrangements incorporate co-management elements inspired by models used by the Cook Islands and the New Zealand Ministry for the Environment, with advisory input from bodies like the International Union for Conservation of Nature and funding proposals linked to the Global Environment Facility and the Inter-American Development Bank.
Management strategies include zoning for no-take areas and sustainable-use zones informed by spatial planning methods used by The Nature Conservancy and marine spatial planners at the University of Queensland. Enforcement relies on patrols coordinated with the Chilean Navy and surveillance technologies tested by teams from SpaceX satellite providers, European Maritime Safety Agency, and NOAA’s enforcement programs. Measures address illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing flagged by the Food and Agriculture Organization and aim to restore overexploited reef fisheries through restocking and habitat protection approaches developed by researchers at Universidad de Concepción. Community-based monitoring draws on participatory models from Fiji and Vanuatu that were adapted by the Rapa Nui Municipality and Indigenous Council of Rapa Nui.
The MPA intersects with ancestral marine tenure of the Rapa Nui people and cultural heritage sites associated with Rano Raraku and Ahu Tongariki that are emblematic of island identity promoted by the Museo Antropológico Sebastián Englert. Sustainable tourism, regulated by local authorities and international tour operators from Mataveri International Airport connections, seeks to balance visitation with protection following guidelines similar to those of the ICOMOS and the World Tourism Organization. Traditional fishing rights and customary practices were negotiated with support from indigenous rights advocates including representatives from Aotearoa New Zealand and scholars from University of Otago.
Scientific programs coordinate universities and institutes including Universidad de Chile, Universidad Austral de Chile, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the Smithsonian Institution to monitor biodiversity, oceanography, and cultural resource condition. Long-term monitoring frameworks reference standards from the Global Ocean Observing System and biodiversity protocols of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Research priorities include baseline surveys by autonomous vehicles from MBARI, genetic studies with collaborators at the Natural History Museum, London, and climate impact assessments using models from IPCC and oceanographic datasets curated by NOAA and NASA. Collaborative data-sharing initiatives echo practices from the Ocean Biogeographic Information System and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Category:Protected areas of Chile Category:Marine protected areas