Date of Award
5-2016
Degree Type
Research Paper
Degree Name
Master of Arts in International Development and Social Change (IDSC)
Department
International Development, Community and Environment
Chief Instructor
Denise Humphrey-Bebbington
Second Reader
Rinku Chowdhury
Keywords
International Development, Environment, Conservation Management, Panama, Embera
Abstract
This paper argues that areas of environmental conservation in the Panama Canal Watershed Zone were originally designed to fit an economic utility rather than to protect habitat. As a result there was an exclusion of forest-based communities in policy design and implementation, creating lasting impacts on indigenous Emberá territorial rights, livelihood opportunities, and traditional cultural practices. Based on recent fieldwork and a review of relevant secondary literature, this paper discusses how Emberá communities in in Chagres National Park have adapted their culture and livelihoods to accommodate environmental regulation and explores what prospects the Emberá see for future generations if they do not mobilize for territorial rights. This paper concludes by recommending that the Panamanian government look towards community-based conservation management in order to most effectively achieve the preservation of the Canal Zones’ valuable natural and cultural resources.
Recommended Citation
Taylor, Sara M., "Environmental Conservation as an Instrument of National Political Economy: Culture, Livelihoods, and territorial rights of the Emberá of Panama" (2016). International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE). 41.
https://commons.clarku.edu/idce_masters_papers/41
Included in
Environmental Studies Commons, International and Area Studies Commons, Other Languages, Societies, and Cultures Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons