Is an equitable sustainable tourism model possible, and if so how can it be implemented in a way that promotes the rights of indigenous and afro-descendant peoples? In this talk, I examine the discourse and practice of sustainable tourism development on the Caribbean Coast of Honduras. I demonstrate the ways in which the Honduran state, international financial institutions (IFIs) and private tourism investors utilize the language of sustainability to promote tourism development projects that are ecologically destructive, and which threaten the territorial rights and autonomy of coastal peoples, especially the Garifuna.

Christopher Loperena received his Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Loperena's scholarship examines Garifuna struggles over land and territorial autonomy against the backdrop of neoliberal tourism development on the Caribbean coast of Honduras. He has collaborated on numerous studies with the Organización Fraternal Negra Hondureña (OFRANEH) and the Caribbean and Central America Research Council (CCARC). He is currently an assistant professor of International Studies at the University of San Francisco.