Chapter 5 - The cultural landscape of Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile)

Abstract

Rapa Nui (Easter Island) is a 180 km 2 Pacific island, the most distant point in the world from other dry land. At the time of its colonization by Polynesians around AD 400 the island supported lush subtropical forests but less than 1500 years later these had disappeared, triggering the complete destruction of the island's ecosystem. At the peak of its prosperity Rapa Nui supported a complex, stable political system whose clan groups carved gigantic stone statues ( moal ). Uncontrolled population growth and the cutting of forest to transport moal resulted in the extinction of most native plant and animal species accompanied by civil war, cannibalism and social disintegration. Today, some 3000 people live on Rapa Nui (now part of Chile) supported almost entirely by heritage tourism. Seventy per cent of the island is a National Park designated as a World Heritage Site (cultural landscape category) in 1996. Tourism is seasonal, entirely controlled by Rapa Nui people and dependent on air access. World Heritage designation has met with some local opposition by restricting development opportunities but others welcome it as a means to access conservation funding.