| Spanning a period of three decades this study examines how contrasting visions of conservation and development have been played out in the village of Cahuita, Limón Province, Costa Rica, since the establishment of a conservation area that encompassed former agricultural and fishing areas in 1970. It presents Cahuita as (1) community space where local residents carry out their livelihood activities, (2) conservation space embodied in the contiguous Cahuita National Park and (3) tourism space that provides the basis for the current local economy. It is a case study of a once isolated, agrarian, Afro-Caribbean community whose people and landscape have been shaped by an exogenous conservation agenda, in this case manifested by the presence of a national park. The park, with its forest, coral reef and beaches has, in turn, functioned as a tourist destination. The scope of the project includes assessment of both environmental and sociocultural preservation and change. By articulating how various stakeholders view themselves and others operating in the contested space, the research design results in a reflexive triangulation of perspective, key to understanding either potential for common ground or persistent discord. The author seeks to contribute to the discipline of geography, the field of political ecology, and the literature of conservation and communities. |
