Projects

I would like this homepage to be an invitation for everyone to visit these wonderful islands. If you have any questions or comments, just feel free to send me an Email to: jberlin@uai.cl

My intention is to get some sponsors, and try to help the community of the Juan Fernández Islands, one of the most isolated places on the earth.

Actual Projects

In this moment there is a project, which is financed in part by the Dutch government. Its official name is "Conservation, Restauration and Development of the Juan Fernández Islands"; the main objetives of this project is to educate and make the people part of the beauty and take care of the unique flora and fauna which is foundin this delicate ecosystem. Another objective is to eliminate the foreign plants and animals (especially goats, rabbits, coatis and rats), who are responsible for the principle destruction of the native flora and fauna. The amount of money involved is about 2 millions US Dollars.

Political Projects

The Juan Fernández Islands, together with the misterious Easter Island (or Rapa Nui, about 2500 km notheast), belong politically to Chile, more specifically to the Region of Valparaíso. The Rapa Nui people (of polinesian origin) want to be granted by Chile a special status, which in certain aspects they have won. Because in the Juan Fernández Islands there are no native people and almost everyone who lives on the Island came from outside (Some Swiss, Germans, Mexican and Chileans, who arrived in the 1890s) they do not have special grants.
As you can see on the map, it is a huge maritime territory which belongs to the Island (about 2 million sqkm) so I think it is necessary to create a new region in Chile which can be called as the "Chilean Oceanic Territory" conformed by the maritime spaces and all the Chilean Islands in the Pacific (San Félix y San Ambrosio, unhabited; Juan Fernández Islands, 500 habitants; Rapa Nui, 2500 habitants; and Sala y Gómez, unhabited).
This new region would be administerd by the central government in the hope of recieving better and faster public services, because the Islands are not going to beg money from Valparaiso. This territory would have to get its own political represantatives in Congress, at least one representative.I am sure that this would benefit the peoples future.
Another important point is that Chile claims 350 miles of Economic Exclusive Zone around the oceanic Islands, instead of the 200 miles recognized by the United Nations. So Chile needs to have a strong political presence in the Pacific to mantain their claims and rights. As our Military presence in this region is very, very modest, we urgently need to improve our political presence.
We have to be concious of the fact that the future of the mankind is in the oceans, so it is our duty to protect them. Chile needs this "Oceanic Territory" in order to create a new hope for our development.

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