Neoliberal conservation, garifuna territorial rights and resource management in the cayos cochinos marine protected area

Abstract

This case study contributes to the study of neoliberal conservation and indigenous rights through an interdisciplinary (anthropology and fisheries management) evaluation of the 2004-2009 management plan for Honduras′ Cayos Cochinos Marine Protected Area (CCMPA). The CCMPA was established in 1993, in a region that has been inhabited by the afro-indigenous Garifuna for over 213 years. An evaluation of the CCMPA′s 2004-2009 management plan′s socioeconomic objectives is situated within the historical-cultural context of a long-standing territorial struggle, changes in governance practices, and related shifts in resource access and control. The article highlights the central importance of local social activism and the relative or partial success that such mobilisation can bring about for restructuring resource governance.

Keywords

• neoliberal conservation
• Cayos Cochinos Marine Protected Area
• indigenous rights
• Garifuna
• Honduras