ROBINSON CRUSOE ISLAND, CHILE — It's still a natural paradise far out in the Pacific, with thick jungles and stunningly steep and verdant slopes climbing out of the sea. But much of the splendor in the tiny Chilean islands that likely inspired Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe" castaway novel is being eaten away.
Nearly four centuries of human contact have left many slopes denuded, their trees and plants lost to logging and fires, or devoured by imported goats and rabbits. Jungles remain, but invasive species are crowding out the unique native plants and birds that evolved during more than a million years of splendid isolation.
"It's a textbook example of how to degrade an ecosystem," said Cristian Estades of the University of Chile, an expert on the islands' birds.
A handful of biologists, environmentalists, teachers and Chilean government officials are working with islanders on projects to save endangered species by eliminating non-native plants and animals. In a world full of daunting environmental challenges, they say this one can be solved with enough time, effort and money, in part because the three islands are so remote — 416 miles (670 kilometers) west of the Chilean mainland.
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