Indigenous Rights and Resource Management in the Naso Territory of Panama
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THE TIGER AND THE TURBINE: Indigenous Rights and Resource Management in the Naso Territory of Panama Jason Jacques Paiement Department of Anthropology McGill University Montreal, Québec February 2007 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of PhD. © Jason Jacques Paiement 2007 Table of Contents Abstract …………………………………………………………………….……. 4 Résumé …………………………………………………………………….……. 5 Resumen …………………………………………………………………….…... 6 Preface ……………………………………………………………………….….. 7 List of Maps ………………………………………………………………….….. 8 List of Tables ……………………………………………………………………. 8 List of Figures …………………………………………………………….……. 9 List of Acronyms ………………………………………………………………. 11 Glossary ……………………………………………………………………...… 12 Chapter I: Introduction.......................................................................................... 13 1.1 Indigenous rights and resource management........................................ 13 1.2 Thesis outline........................................................................................ 16 1.3 The tiger and the turbine ....................................................................... 17 1.4 Anthropology in action: culture, environment and development ......... 22 1.5 Testing the waters: methodology and analysis ..................................... 39 Chapter II: Social and Ecological History of the Naso Region ............................ 52 2.1 Pre-hispanic political ecology............................................................... 52 2.2 Conquest and colonization.................................................................... 55 2.3 Republican modernity........................................................................... 58 2.4 Neo-liberal globalization...................................................................... 67 Chapter III: Resource Management "from below" ............................................... 72 3.1 Socio demographics.............................................................................. 72 3.2 Political organizations........................................................................... 84 3.3 Land tenure........................................................................................... 90 3.4 Land use.............................................................................................. 101 3.5 Conclusions......................................................................................... 113 Chapter IV: Resource management "from above".............................................. 116 4.1 Hidro Ecológica del Teribe (HET S.A.) ............................................. 116 4.2 The Bonyic hydroelectric project........................................................ 118 2 4.3 The Mesoamerican Biological Corridor ............................................. 124 4.4 The Comarca Naso Tjër Di ................................................................. 128 4.5 Revolution and the Naso monarchy.................................................... 132 4.6 Bonyic: the Naso factor ...................................................................... 135 4.7 “Naso Hydro Project Approved!” ...................................................... 144 4.8 “Teribe king dethroned” ..................................................................... 151 4.9 Cracks appear in the Bonyic dam ....................................................... 163 Chapter 5: Conclusion......................................................................................... 168 5.1 Summary of main findings.................................................................. 168 5.2 Suggestions for further research ......................................................... 173 References........................................................................................................... 176 Appendix I: Naso household survey questionnaire …………….……………... 192 Appendix II: Bonyic Hydroelectric Project Abstract …………………………. 200 Appendix III: Letter from SUNTRACS representative Jaime Caballero …..… 202 Appendix IV: Summary of phase one research results ……………………….. 204 Appendix V: Letter from HET S.A. official Cesar Romero ………………….. 207 Appendix VI: Petition demanding government support for Naso elections ….. 210 Appendix VII: Newspaper article about Naso leadership conflict ……………. 211 Appendix VIII: Government of Panama research permit No.04-04 ………….. 214 Appendix IX: McGill University Research Ethics Board Certificate #13-0604. 216 Appendix X: Naso elections agreement ………………………………………. 217 3 Abstract Anthropologists have long recognized the central role of social systems in enhancing environmental sustainability, but few have attempted to accurately assess the conditions under which traditional social institutions can equitably and effectively manage access to natural resources for the purposes of their use and conservation. By failing to look closely at how resource management practices are shaped both by local-level cultural institutions and the political and economic forces of government policies and markets, anthropologists have compounded the confusion surrounding the functions and capacities of traditional resource management institutions. This dissertation examines the connections between institutional and economic incentives and resource use and management decisions among the Naso indigenous people in Bocas del Toro, Panama. The study incorporates insights from development anthropology, common property systems and political ecology to develop a multi-sited approach that uses multiple research methods. A detailed household survey (n=54 or 18% of Naso households located within the eight villages surveyed in 2004) was used to obtain socio-demographic data and to establish patterns of land tenure and resource use. Preliminary and follow-up interviews were also conducted with community leaders, government officials and representatives of various national and international organizations with a stake in the conservation and/or development of the Naso region. As a group, the Naso were found to use both indigenous and imported technologies to manage a wide range of natural resources towards ensuring the economic, cultural and ecological viability of their communities. However, recent legislation intended to recognize Naso land rights and a hydroelectric project nearing construction on Naso lands have sought to modify the formal rules and organizations that have traditionally served to order local resource tenure and management practices. This thesis analyses the guidelines and criteria invoked by the various stakeholders involved with these projects in order to assess the equity of the distribution of their social and environmental impacts. It highlights the need to become more sceptical and sophisticated when assessing the objectives and justifications provided by the academics, government agencies, local authorities and private companies involved in the conservation and development of indigenous peoples’ territorial resources. 4 Résumé Depuis longtemps, les anthropologues reconnaissent l’importance des facteurs sociaux pour assurer la durabilité environnementale. Pourtant, peu ont essayé d’évaluer de façon systématique les conditions favorables à une gestion efficace et équitable des ressources naturelles par les institutions sociales traditionnelles. Par défaut d’analyse adéquate de ces institutions locales, ou bien des dynamiques politiques et économiques régionales et internationales qui les affectent, les anthropologues ont souvent contribués à accroître la confusion quand à leurs capacités de fonctionnement dans la gestion des ressources naturelles. Cette thèse examine les liens entre les incitatifs économiques et institutionnelles et la gestion des ressources naturelles du territoire du peuple autochtone Naso au Panama. La recherche est fondée sur une réflexion provenant des domaines de l’anthropologie du développement, l’étude des régimes fonciers communautaires et l’écologie politique. La méthodologie est qualitative, même si un sondage domestique (n=54 ou 18% des résidences comprises parmi les huit villages Naso sondés en 2004) a permis de quantifier plusieurs des tendances socio-économiques et foncières observées. Des entrevus ont aussi été réalisés auprès de diverses autorités locales, fonctionnaires et représentants d’organisations non gouvernementales, du secteur privé, et des institutions internationales engagés dans le développement et la conservation des ressources naturelles et culturelles de la région Naso. Ceci a permis de constater que les Naso emploient une gamme de technologies autochtones et adoptés pour s’assurer de la viabilité socio-économique et environnementale de leurs familles et communautés. Cependant, une nouvelle loi destinée à reconnaître leurs droits ancestraux, plusieurs initiatives de conservation de la biodiversité, et un projet de barrage hydroélectrique prévu sur leur territoire proposent de modifier les règles de fonctionnement des organisations traditionnelles Naso présentement impliqués dans la gestion social et environnementale. Cette thèse analyse également les normes et les critères invoqués par les parties prenantes associés à ces initiatives pour évaluer l’équité de la distribution de leurs impacts sociaux et environnementaux. Elle souligne la nécessité d’entreprendre des études plus rigoureuses et critiques des objectifs et des impacts des projets de développement et de conservation des ressources territoriaux des peuples autochtones. 5 Resumen Por largo tiempo, los antropólogos