Science, capacity building and conservation knowledge: The empowerment of the local community for marine conservation in Rapa Nui

Abstract

Marine protected areas have been scaling up from small areas located in coastal waters to large‐scale marine protected areas in remote areas, partly in response to the international agenda to conserve 10% of marine and coastal areas. Chile has made considerable progress in the designation of large‐scale marine protected areas in its oceanic islands with varying degrees of top‐down and bottom‐up processes, scientific knowledge and interplay among institutions. The process of designating the multiple‐uses marine protected area in Rapa Nui (Easter Island) involved interplay among scientific research, capacity building, local knowledge and collaboration between sectors, which contributed to the community transformation toward marine conservation in Rapa Nui. A recent increase in scientific research on the marine ecosystems was transmitted to stakeholders and the local community via capacity‐building actions. The knowledge‐based empowerment of the Rapanui population (inhabitants of Rapa Nui) involved the definition not only of the objectives, the extension and the conservation goals of the Rapa Nui multiple‐uses marine protected area, but also of the implications beyond the designation, such as issues of governance, management and financing. The implementation of the Rapa Nui multiple‐uses marine protected area will test local and Rapanui government relationships. The continuous science‐knowledge‐based dialogue in a strengthened relationship between the government and the local community in a ‘process of relating’ might be the pathway to future effective conservation efforts and successes.

Conservation of Rapa Nui waters strongly supported by publications in Aquatic Conservation

“…In 2018 Chile created the Rapa Nui Multiple‐Use Marine Protected Area (MUMPA) around Rapa Nui (native name for Easter Island) as part of its international commitments under Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). This MPA, encompassing 579,368 km 2 , is the largest in the Americas and its creation was strongly supported and reported by scientific research published in Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems (AQC) (Friedlander et al, 2013; Paredes, Flores, Figueroa, Gaymer, & Aburto, 2019). This designation was the result of an ~8‐year conservation process that included a participatory consultation with the Rapanui community (Paredes et al, 2019).…”

“…This MPA, encompassing 579,368 km 2 , is the largest in the Americas and its creation was strongly supported and reported by scientific research published in Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems (AQC) (Friedlander et al, 2013; Paredes, Flores, Figueroa, Gaymer, & Aburto, 2019). This designation was the result of an ~8‐year conservation process that included a participatory consultation with the Rapanui community (Paredes et al, 2019). This large‐scale MPA (LSMPA) will be co‐managed by the Rapanui community and the Chilean Government in an 11‐member Sea Council with a Rapanui majority (Paredes et al, 2019).…”

“…This designation was the result of an ~8‐year conservation process that included a participatory consultation with the Rapanui community (Paredes et al, 2019). This large‐scale MPA (LSMPA) will be co‐managed by the Rapanui community and the Chilean Government in an 11‐member Sea Council with a Rapanui majority (Paredes et al, 2019). Even though crucial, the creation process was only the starting point, as the key will be the implementation of this MPA, and this will need a thorough effort by the local community and the Chilean State.…”

Spatial and seasonal differences in the top predators of Easter Island: Essential data for implementing the new Rapa Nui multiple‐uses marine protected area

“…The current study is an important contribution for planning the management and conservation strategies to be implemented in the newly created Rapa Nui MUMPA. A marine council, with a majority of Rapa Nui‐elected members, will place the administration of this area under a co‐management strategy, which is an unprecedented model of MPA administration in Chile (Aburto et al, ; Paredes, Flores, Figueroa, Gaymer, & Aburto, ).…”

Understanding the context of multifaceted collaborations for social-ecological sustainability: a methodology for cross-case analysis

“…Doggedly, or even blindly, seeking collaboration in such contexts may therefore be naïve at best, and destructive at worst. In some cases, local people may not want collaboration, or they are divided: some want to work in a collaborative way, and some do not want any kind of collaboration with external agencies or NGOs (Paredes et al 2019). The multiplicity of features poses a challenge to understanding when, where, and why collaboration works or does not work and might in some circumstances even have to be abandoned (Margerum and Robinson 2016).…”