Territorialization of the REDD + strategy in the Bribri indigenous people, Talamanca, Costa Rica

Abstract This article explores how the attempt of implementing REDD+ affects the livelihoods and nature valuation of the Bribri indigenous people in Talamanca, Costa Rica. The analysis is done using a case study, discourse analysis and collective hermeneutics in documents and interviews produced by international, national, and local social actors. Controversies in the REDD+ strategy have been manifested in the initiative’s de/re/territorialization processes. These processes are legitimized by technocratic discursive strategies associated with climate change mitigation, produced in multilateral negotiations, and adapted by national institutions for purposes not aligned with the interests of the communities. It is concluded that the implementation of REDD + in indigenous territories in Costa Rica gives way to i) the commoditization of nature, participation and traditional forms of governance; ii) the consolidation of a climate eco-governmentality based on the fragmentation of nature; iii) building representations of vulnerable and impoverished indigenous people, and thus justifying intervention in their territories.