Ma’u Henua is the native Rapanui community organization that is in charge of the National Park and the heritage of Rapa Nui.  In 2017, the Chilean government, under the presidency of Michelle Bachelet, turned the responsibility for this over to the president-elect of the association, Camilo Rapu-Riroroko.  After 131 years since the annexation of the Island to Chile through the Agreement of Wills, the Rapanui people were finally able to autonomously administer the legacy and heritage of their ancestors.  The administration by the directors of Ma’u Henua, which recently celebrated its two-year anniversary, has had successes, among which are the improvement of National Park facilities in matters of security, infrastructure and sustainability.

The income from the park fees has been invested in peripheral fencing, improvements in the ranger stations, incorporation of sustainable initiatives (solar panels, eco-toilets, biodigestors, rainwater collectors) and guards for twenty-five sites within the entire Park, up from the five sites that were manned under the previous government administration.  During this year, the first stage of the renovation of the tourist reception complex at Rano Rakaku will begin.

Ma’u Henua has given jobs to more than 250 people of the Rapanui ethnic group, who today work in administration, control and maintenance of the Park, archaeological conservation and extension of the Rapanui culture. In addition, the organization has joined with the demands for restitution of Rapanui heritage. In the first half of this year, the moai (statue) currently in the Anthropological Museum of La Serena will be returned to the Island.