Environmental Issues

There is growing concern about tourism’s impact on Rapa Nui [1]’s cultural resources and quality of life, and a Santiago [2] consulting firm is conducting a study of the island’s tourist “carrying capacity.” While the evaluation appears to be focusing on issues of water, land, and food, water is probably the most important factor—few people rely on horticulture for their livelihoods, and food can be imported even if air freight becomes more expensive.

Still, the possibility exists that, in the near future, authorities may restrict access to the island, perhaps by instituting a staggered price system that would disperse business throughout the year rather than concentrate it in the summer.

At the local end, relative affluence is causing problems such as the proliferation of automobiles, with their associated pollution, and the accumulation of solid waste on an island with little land to spare.