Indigenous Peoples' Climate Change Assessment
Fact Sheet Comarca de Kuna Yala, Panama
Name of the People:
Kuna
Organization:
Fundación para la Promoción del Conocimiento Indígena (FPCI). Foundation for the Promotion of Indigenous Knowledge.
Geographical Location:
Kuna Yala has an area of 2393 km². It is an archipelago of 365 islands and a strip of land stretching 373 km along the coast of Panama, and borders and the province of. 36 of the islands that are inhabited by Kuna communities. An additional 13 communities are located on the mainland coast, for a total of 49 communities.
Ecosystem/biome:
Marine - Coastal, wetlands and forests.
Socioecological Data:
Kuna Yala has a population of 67,487 people (2004). The economy of the Comarca de Kuna Yala is mostly dedicated to agriculture, fishing, handicraft production, and tourism.
The focus of agriculture in Comarca de Kuna Yala is subsistence. The traditional products are bananas (chinese bananas), corn, and sugar cane. Also, coconuts are produced as a means of income.
Fishing is kind of craft, generally using wire (fishing line) or nets. Most fishing is for the purpose of sale. Seafood, especially lobster, crab (spider crab) and lately the squid and octopus, is particularly intended for sale, for which planes arrive daily to the islands.
The making of molas is the main activity of the Kuna women and families. For many, it is the main or only source of income.
In Comarca de Kuna Yala, there are tourist facilities. Most of which are small hotels for ecotourism. The majority of the hotels are in the area of Cartí, but some are also found in Corregimiento Ailigandi.
Other sources of income are remittances sent by relatives working in the cities of Panama and Colon.
Relevance for the assessment/livelihoods/food systems:
The Kuna people depend directly on the ecosystem in which they live to survive. Any rise in sea level will directly impact communities, and some islands may disappear. For food, the Kuna depend on the forests and the sea.
According to some studies, the Kuna live in an ecosystem that is one of the most vulnerable to climate change. For this reason, any change in climate threatens their existence.
Current climate trends (threats, etc.):
Sea level is rising, to the point where, in the month of October, various island communities are flooded. Also, there is an impact in food production because of rising temperatures and diminishing marine resources (fish, lobster and others) which the Kuna depend upon for sustenance.
Proposed Focus of the Assessment:
The proposal is to carry out an evaluation of the impacts of climate change in the ecosystems that the Kuna depend upon, and the risks they represent for the survival of a people. Furthermore, this project will propose alternatives that would secure the survival of the Kuna people by securing their sources of food, culture, religion, history, environment and economy.
Floods suffered during October 2008.