One of world’s largest marine parks created off coast of Easter Island
Rapa Nui marine protection shows what’s possible when Indigenous communities lead conservation from the ground up. Easter Island’s roughly 3,000 residents voted 73% in favor of the reserve after five years of community consultations, protecting at least 142 species found nowhere else on Earth. Traditional artisanal fishing by hand line remains permitted, honoring the community’s living relationship with the sea — though enforcement across a remote area this vast remains a genuine challenge. As ocean advocates push toward protecting 30% of global waters, this democratically mandated, community-shaped reserve offers a compelling blueprint for what that effort could actually look like.
