Work

Forests, rights and development in Costa Rica: a Political Ecology perspective on indigenous peoples’ engagement in REDD+

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: Costa Rica is well known for its policies to enhance conservation and sustainable use of forests. The country was also instrumental in promoting the mitigation strategy ‘Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+)’ under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The effective and legitimate implementation of REDD+ requires the participation of local stakeholders, including indigenous groups from forest regions, and corresponding provisions were established through social safeguards at the international level. In this article, we review this normative and institutional set-up and link it with experiences from the national and local levels by analysing the development of indigenous groups’ engagement in Costa Rican REDD+ politics. Drawing on a multilevel Political Ecology approach, we analyse data, which were gathered through interviews and participant observation on central government developments and on the Cabagra and Salitre indigenous territories. Our study illustrates the sociopolitical processes related to political agency, land conflicts and lessons learned, e.g. regarding epistemological biases and the local organisation of political participation, which indigenous communities have experienced during the design and consultation of the national REDD+ strategy.

Source: Conflict Security and Development

DOI: 10.1080/14678802.2018.1532643

Authors: Linda Wallbott, Elena M. Florian-Rivero

Institutions: Technische Universität Darmstadt, Centro Agronomico Tropical de Investigacion y Ensenanza Catie

Language: English

Topic: Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management

Subfield: Global and Planetary Change

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Life on land, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: Volkswagen Foundation