DiCaprio-linked group buys 52,000 acres on Chilean island; protected status still under negotiation

DiCaprio-linked group buys 52,000 acres on Chilean island; protected status still under negotiation (Image Credit: WWF Chile/ Evelyn Pfeiffer via Rewild) More than a year after a conservation group linked to Leonardo DiCaprio helped acquire over 52,000 acres on Chile’s Guafo Island, efforts are continuing to secure its future as a protected area. The purchase, completed in 2025 for US$7.5 million, was intended to prevent destructive development and preserve the island’s wildlife and forests. According to Chilean newspaper La Tercera, which reported on the organisation’s financial records and negotiations on October 17, 2026, Re:wild (Re), the conservation organisation linked to DiCaprio, and its local partners are working with Chilean authorities on a legal framework for protection. The process also involves Indigenous communities with longstanding cultural and traditional ties to the island.How the island was acquired for conservationGuafo Island lies off the coast of Chiloé, in southern Chile, near the municipality of Quellón. It covers an ecologically important landscape that has attracted interest from coal mining and timber harvesting industries. In June 2025, Re announced tha...