According to La Tercera, the financial statements of Re:wild, a US conservation organization based in Austin, Texas, show that its only registered landholding is Guafo Island in Chile. The NGO paid US$ 7.5 million for it in 2025 and reports assets of US$ 74 million.
Guafo is in the municipality of Quellón, in the Los Lagos region, about 37 kilometers off the coast of Chiloé. In June 2025, Re:wild announced the purchase of around 21 thousand hectares of the island. One hectare equals 10 thousand square meters, roughly the area of a soccer field. The newspaper describes it as a former whaling island with largely unexploited natural surroundings that is crucial for biodiversity.
Donors include the foundation of Jeff and Marieke Rothschild, whom the newspaper links to Facebook. The foundation contributed US$ 2.5 million to the island's conservation project.
US actor Leonardo DiCaprio is listed in the documents as a founding member of Re:wild's board of directors. According to La Tercera, he devotes one hour a week to those duties and receives no salary or other declared compensation. Biologist Weston Sechrest is listed as another founder.
The NGO is negotiating with the state to establish a Private Protected Area (APP), a designation that recognizes conservation on private land. Contacts began on February 13, toward the end of Gabriel Boric's administration. That day, Leonardo and Felipe Moreno, from Cultiva Corporation, Re:wild's local partner, met with the then director of the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Service (SBAP), Aarón Cavieres, according to the Lobbying Act register.
At that meeting, the project's representatives proposed first creating a private protected area and then donating the island to the state. They also mentioned the application for an Indigenous Peoples' Coastal Marine Area (ECMPO), a designation that reserves marine areas for traditional Indigenous uses. It was submitted by communities that harvest fish and shellfish around Guafo.
Under José Antonio Kast's administration, an initial meeting took place on April 14. Government sources told Pulso that they expect the application in the coming days. Re:wild said it would submit it in the coming weeks to the SBAP regional office in Los Lagos, which will assess it.
The NGO expects the process to conclude in November 2027, although it cautions that the timeline may change. According to the organization, no one has yet established a private protected area under Law 21,600, which created SBAP and the National System of Protected Areas.
The island currently has no park rangers or permanent staff, nor any surveillance measures. Re:wild says it will prioritize eradicating invasive species and biosecurity. Regarding the ECMPO, it says it sent a letter of support to the Wafo Wapi community. Cultiva's next scientific expedition is scheduled for January 2027.
