Black and Green: Afro-Colombians, Development, and Nature in the Pacific Lowlands (review)
This book is a welcome addition to the growing literature on indigenous and black resistance in Latin America. It looks in detail at the experience of one sector of the black movement in Colombia, the Proceso de Comunidades Negras (PCN). The colorful titlemetaphor gives a clue to the author's approach. Rural black populations in the tropical rainforest region of die Colombian Pacific lowlands have officially been recognized as guardians of this fragile ecosystem. In fact, black and green was considered a winning formula in the early 1990s to protect both the environment from uncontrolled exploitation by mining and logging companies and die traditional life styles and culture of rural black populations. It was a time of hope for the region's Afro-Colombian communities who were seemingly empowered by a legislation that would grant them collective land titles over 5 million hectares.