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Abstract:
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"International protected area (PA) management policies recognise the importance of respecting Indigenous rights.
However, little research has been conducted to evaluate how these policies are being enforced. We evaluated whether
Indigenous rights to access traditional food were being respected in La Amistad Biosphere Reserve, Costa Rica.
By examining land management documents, we found that PA regulations have the potential to restrict traditional
food access because these regulations ban shifting agriculture and heavily restrict hunting; these regulations do not
address the harvest of edible plants. By working with Bribri people, we found multiple negative impacts that PAs
had on: health, nutrition, passing on cultural teachings to youth, quality of life, cultural identity, social cohesion
and bonding, as well as on the land and non-human beings. We propose three steps to better support food access
in PAs in Costa Rica and elsewhere. First, a right to food framework should inform PA management regarding
traditional food harvesting. Second, people require opportunities to define what harvesting activities are traditional
and sustainable and these activities should be respected in PA management. Third, harvesting regulations need to
be clearly communicated by land managers to resource users so people have the necessary information to exercise
their rights to access food."
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