From National Policy to Grassroots Activism in Costa Rica's Osa

1 Environmentalisms in Practice: From National Policy to Grassroots Activism in Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula PhD Thesis Clate Korsant Department of Anthropology, Goldsmiths, University of London Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, September 2017 2 I, Clate Korsant, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. I confirm that where the information has other sources it has been indicated in the thesis. Clate Joseph Korsant September 2017 3 Abstract This thesis examines the characteristics of Costa Rican environmentalism, focusing on biodiversity conservation in the Osa Peninsula. Relatively remote and long inaccessible, the Osa Peninsula is seen as a frontier region and the most renowned biodiversity hotspot of one of the world’s most relatively biodiverse nations. Given the shift towards community- based initiatives, I explain how individuals have come to care for and interact with their surroundings, the interrelations of differing regimes of value, and tensions inherent to the politics of land use. Conservationist practice in the Osa Peninsula represents a messy, conflict-ridden, contentious, and ambiguous phenomenon, entangled with Costa Rica’s history of elite domination over the extraction and use of resources, indoctrination and the influence of external interests, and global agendas. This in-depth ethnographic study of the different manifestations of environmentalism in the Osa Peninsula, including government policies, environmental education, grass roots activism, volunteering, and ecotourism, reveal environmentalism to be more complex than the static monolithic entity previously depicted. This ethnography illuminates the relationship between power and place, and the importance of global and historic processes that inform the politics of conservationism. Altogether I identify five factors shaping these various forms of environmentalism: conservation as sincere efforts and good intentions to sustain ecosystems and non-human life, socio-economic concerns for making a living, the adoption of environmental movements as tools of capitalist expansion, imperialism, and reference to Costa Rican nationalism and senses of place. In identifying these five factors and exploring them ethnographically in one regional context, this study thus makes an important contribution to the understanding of environmentalism as inherently multi-faceted. 4 To my parents, Philip and Catherine Korsant, and all their love and support 5 Acknowledgements There are many people to thank, and I won’t do justice to expressing all the gratitude that I owe within these short lines. But I will try. Firstly, I’d like to thank my friends and family for the years of love and support (especially, my parents and brother). I certainly would not have been able to complete this without you. I think about the wonderful teachers that have inspired me from Colorado College to the New School for Social Research to Goldsmiths, and their words have served as motivation. The years of feedback have helped me to become a better student, writer, and researcher. The idea for this research site in the Osa Peninsula sprung from conversations with environmentalists from NRDC, and I thank them for the guidance and the contacts in Costa Rica. There are many in Costa Rica who provided invaluable help getting settled and acquainted with the area. Much of this work could not have been completed without your knowledge and expertise of the area, and I thank you for trusting me and sharing everything so openly. I count many of the best days of fieldwork as collaborative, and the opportunities research participants afforded me were invaluable. Many institutions were helpful, among them: OC, MINAE, RBA, INOGO, FC, PiOsa, and ASCONA. I would especially like to thank Mike, Eduardo, Ifi, Manuel, JJ, Isabel, Pilar, Alan, Kenneth, Adonis, Jim, Alvaro, Alberto, Alvaro Ugalde, Andres, Luis, JP, Sophie, Janina, Phoebe, Lana, Alice, and Enrique. A special thank you is owed to Evelina, my partner in crime through most of this process. You were there for me in more ways than can be articulated here, and I’m grateful that you shared your talents and curiosity during the adventure we created together – it wouldn’t have been the same without that world. There are a number of people at Goldsmiths that I would like to thank. My inspiring cohort, among other classmates and colleagues, helped to keep us all sane through this process: Charli, Sarah, Cy, Matteo, Claudia, and Diana. I would like to thank the anthropology department staff, especially Victoria, Casey, Mark, and Gavin. The Latin American Seminar group and ILAS at the Senate House Library were other inspiring groups of colleagues and friends. I am so grateful for the support of my dedicated supervisors, Pauline and Steve. You fielded drafts and redrafts and anxious emails, and provided consistent, thoughtful, and invaluable guidance. Thank you for pushing me to be better, for the constructive criticism, for thorough feedback, caring support, and the inspiring intellectual engagement. And thank you to friends and editors who looked over drafts of this, especially, Evelina, Jenny, and Angela. The work within these pages was developed for various conferences and seminars; and it was assisted by countless discussions with colleagues. I apologize, as I don’t have enough room here to thank everyone, but I hope you know who you are and that your assistance is greatly appreciated! 6 Table of Contents List of Pseudonyms, Research Participants, and Occupations 10 List of Acronyms 12 List of Figures 15 Introduction – The Osa Peninsula as a Frontier within the Greening Nation 16 The Question of the Greening Nation 19 Environmentalisms in Place 27 The Argument Revisited 30 The Osa Peninsula Frontier 32 Methodology 38 Chapter Breakdown 45 Chapter 1 – Constructing Coherence: Nationalism, Resource Use, and the Question of Costa Rican Exceptionalism 47 From Colonial Contact to the Late Colonial Period 52 Costa Rican Independence Through the Civil War (1821-1949) 54 Rebirth and Reform: 1949-1979 59 New Directions and the Rise of Tourism: 1979-Present 64 Nationalism and Contradictions 68 Conclusion 71 Chapter 2 – Political Ecology and the Burgeoning Conservation Movement in the Osa Peninsula 73 Outlining Costa Rican Environmentalism 74 Governance and Regional Policy 75 In Overview 77 Nationalism, Environmentalism, and Space 85 Conservation Practice and Political Ecology in the Osa Peninsula 89 Budding Conflict in the Osa 91 President Oduber’s National Emergency: Creating the PNC and RFGD 95 7 Scientific Researchers 98 Wessberg in the Osa 99 The Debt Crisis and Gold Miners 102 The 1990s and Activism 104 Conclusion 107 Chapter 3 – Institutionalizing the Strategies for the Greening Republic 109 Fortress Conservation and NGO Reputations 111 World Environment Day, Puerto Jiménez 114 In Dos Brazos 118 Corcovado National Park (PNC) as a Case of Fortress Conservation 121 Fishing Meetings in Puerto Jiménez and Golfito 128 Golfito 129 The Osa Campaign and Top-Down Approach 132 Maria 136 Conclusion 140 Chapter 4 – Dissenting Campesinos: Reactions to the New Mainstreaming of Land Use 141 Remembering and Inheriting Conflict 142 Nostalgia and Violence 148 Precaristas, Campesinos, and Facing Regulation 149 Displacing the Rural and the New Order of Conservation 153 Conserbullshionistas 157 Conclusion 162 Chapter 5 – Implementation at the Local Level: The Case of Environmental Education 163 Framing Environmental Education 167 Samuel’s Style of Environmental Education 173 Environmental Education in Practice: Embodiment, Pedagogy, and Outreach 178 Competing Perspectives on Valued Knowledge 186 Conclusion 190 8 Chapter 6 – Blurring the Line between Grassroots Activism and Green Imperialism 191 Grassroots as a Metaphor: Localized Political Action 193 Sustainability, Gender, and Practice 195 Charlas 198 Old/New School Environmentalism 207 The New School in Practice, Ecology and Health, Sustainable Development, and Nature Loving 212 Roni 217 Conclusion 218 Chapter 7 – Science, “Voluntourism,” and the “Cosmopolitan Nature Experience” 221 Global/Local and the Making of a Cosmopolitan Space 223 Osa Tourism and Volunteering 225 Science and Political Knowledge 227 Sea Turtles 229 Volunteers and Voluntourists 231 More from Piro 236 Spirituality, Beauty Seekers, and Nature Lovers 240 Tensions and Friction 243 Conclusion 245 Chapter 8 – Ecotourism and Its Nuances 246 Locating Ecotourism in the Osa Peninsula 248 Caminos de Osa 252 La Tarde and Rancho Quemado 254 Change in Mentality 260 Change from Hunting to Guiding 261 Natures 265 Relations to the State, NGOs, and Other Interests 268 Economic Imperatives and Conservation 271 Conclusion: “El Patrón de Nosotros Es La Tierra [The Land Is Our Patron]” 279 9 Conclusion – Anthropological Method and Environmentalism As a Research Object 281 Bibliography 287 Appendices 306 10 List of Pseudonyms, Research Participants, and Occupations Alejandro, president of the development association in Rancho Quemado, campesino with some interest in tourism, longtime resident. Alex, Spaniard, environmental education worker for FC in El Progreso. Don Benicio, president of mollusk fishermen [pianguero] association in Sierpe, longtime local resident. Carlos, head of the RFGD, from Central Valley, MINAE employee and activist. Claudia, local and treasurer for Rancho Quemado’s development association, operator of ecotourism project. David, entrepreneur, interests in tourism, local Puerto Jiménez resident.

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