Buckinx, Barbara Chris JanGoud, Sejal S.2025-08-012025-08-012025-04-07https://theses-dissertations.princeton.edu/handle/88435/dsp01v979v6505In May 2024, the island community of Gardi Sugdub entered the final stages of its relocation to the Panamanian mainland, capturing the attention of environmentalists and human rights advocates as the first ‘climate refugees’ escaping sea level rise in Latin America. Their case presents a rich opportunity for study owing to the unique degree of autonomy granted to the Indigenous Guna people and their territory through the Guna Revolution of 1925, and the subsequent establishment of a comarcal system of governance in 1938, whereby special administrative regions were created for areas with significant Indigenous populations. Building on previous scholarship published before the completion of the relocation, this thesis draws on original interviews with Guna residents of other islands—who view the fate of Isber Yala as an experiment for their own futures—along with Indigenous leaders and government officials, to answer the question: To what extent does the comarcal system translate into autonomy in Guna relocation efforts in response to sea level rise? Autonomy is investigated along dimensions of both governance (defined as the consultative process, division of labor between national and tribal authorities, and accessibility of finance) and culture (defined as the preservation of Guna customs, creation of new economic opportunities, and respect for the desires of those wishing to remain in place). The analysis—which is grounded in Ransan-Cooper et al.’s 2015 political subjects framing of environmental migration and Geneva-based NGO Displacement Solutions’s associated Peninsula Principles—reveals that comarcal status plays a key role in safeguarding existing expressions of autonomy along both dimensions. In terms of governance, comarcal status allows communities to initiate calls for relocation, facilitates free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), and legitimizes requests for financing. With regards to culture, comarcal status has affirmed Guna desires to remain in situ, though has largely been insufficient in preserving traditional housing customs and expanding livelihoods. This conclusion also demarcates a different relationship between the Guna and the Panamanian state as compared to other contexts of Indigenous relocation in the face of climate change, such as the Isle de Jean Charles Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw of Louisiana, United States. The thesis concludes with recommendations regarding the development of a national climate mobility strategy, the inclusion of cultural considerations in community construction projects, and the integration of local knowledge into scientific data collection and habitability assessments.enPrinceton University Senior Theses