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Political economic history, culture, and Wounaan livelihood diversity in eastern Panama

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Abstract

A growing literature on scholarly and practical approaches to conservation and development uses a livelihood approach to understand rural peoples’ diverse assets and activities, especially as they serve to minimize vulnerability to economic and ecological shocks. In recent years, the suite of potential assets available to rural households has been theorized as human, natural, physical, social, and cultural capitals and includes the context in which they are used. Here we explore Wounaan livelihood strategies and how they articulate with the dynamic political economic history of eastern Panama. Known in Panama as forest dependent swiddeners, semi-structured interviews and participant observation revealed Wounaan’s increasing reliance on fishing, artisanship, and ecotourism in their income profiles. While these income sources are linked to decreasing land availability and increasing market opportunities, we address the role of cultural beliefs and values in Wounaan negotiation of their income strategies.

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Acknowledgements

All research was carried out under a written research agreement with local, regional, and national Wounaan leadership of the Congreso Nacional del Pueblo Wounaan and the Fundación para el Desarrollo del Pueblo Wounaan. We are deeply appreciative of the support of Majé and Boca Lara residents in carrying out this research. We thank Laura B. DeLind, Valerie Imbruce, and two anonymous reviewers for their comments on the manuscript. The map was made from SIG Republic 250k, ©2002, Eon Systems, S.A., all rights reserved. Funding for research and analysis was provided by an American Association of University Women American Dissertation Fellowship, a Cullman Fellowship, a Fulbright-Hays Dissertation Fellowship, a Smithsonian Institution Predoctoral Fellowship, a Yale Center for International and Area Studies Dissertation Research Grant, and a Society for Economic Botany Schultes Award.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Resident Scholar Program, School of American Research, 660 Garcia Street, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 87505, USA

    J. Velásquez Runk

  2. University of Panama, Chepo, Panama

    Gervacio Ortíz Negría

  3. Resident, Majé, Panama

    Gervacio Ortíz Negría

  4. Resident, Boca Lara, Panama

    Wilio Quintero García & Cristobalino Quiróz Ismare

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  1. J. Velásquez Runk
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  2. Gervacio Ortíz Negría
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  3. Wilio Quintero García
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  4. Cristobalino Quiróz Ismare
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Correspondence to J. Velásquez Runk.

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J. Vela´squez Runk has studied ecology and anthropology in eastern Panama for ten years. Presently she is a Resident Scholar at the School of American Research in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Gervacio Ortíz is a business student at the University of Panama and a resident of Majé, Panama.

Wilio Quintero is a resident of Boca Lara, Panama.

Cristobalino Quiróz is a resident of Boca Lara, Panama.

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Runk, J.V., Ortíz Negría, G., Quintero García, W. et al. Political economic history, culture, and Wounaan livelihood diversity in eastern Panama. Agric Hum Values 24, 93–106 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-006-9035-z

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