Sociocultural-Carrying Capacity: Impact of Population Growth in Rapa Nui

A sustained population increase in Rapa Nui has been of a significant concern for the local community since the impact raised the need to establish measures of management to ensure its sustainability. To this end, a governing bill has been developed to regulate the permanence, residence, and transferability to the territory, as well as to promote technical instrumentation to calculate the carrying capacity of the island. A series of measures to overcome these concerns was administered by the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile of which this chapter investigates. A proposed methodology to measure the sociocultural-carrying capacity of Rapa Nui and monitor the impact generated from such phenomena, brought about by the increase in population (i.e., residents and tourists not belonging to the local ethnic group), is the fundamental target. Development of a tool-based approach, capable of managing livelihood, preserving and safeguarding local identity, heritage safe-keeping, and social coexistence in the insular territory is applied.