Native cultures and protected areas: Management options

On their own lands, the culturally native populations of Latin America protect large areas in natural ecosystems and achieve a renewable resource of a living environment. This relation can be reinforced by each of the four management options for the formal designation and organization or protected areas which are outlined in this paper: native owned lands, where the protection of the area is by native peoples; reserves, where a protected natural area corresponds with the territory of a particular native population; buffer zones, where a protected area serves as a physical or ecological barrier between native lands and the lands of others; and research stations, where certain areas under native management are organized as agricultural or ecological research stations.