My Research
I am an interdisciplinary, qualitative, and action oriented researcher. My research has primarily taken place in Bocas del Toro, Panama— a coastal region where I studied abroad while completing my bachelor’s degree. Since then, I have returned to the archipelago to continue studying the socio-environmental complexities in the area through my master’s thesis and more recently, through a fellowship with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI). My work has focused on the relationship that coastal communities in Bocas del Toro have with both their physical and social landscapes. As a student, I delved into the governance dynamics within the local marine and terrestrial national park, which has historically been a point of contention in the heavily tourist-dependent region. Currently, through my fellowship at STRI, I am studying the socio-economic impacts that coastal erosion has had on the archipelago. My hope moving forward is for my research and my community based work to complement and inform each other towards sustainable and community based rural projects. I strive for my work to be collaborative, practical, and accessible.
Governance, Protected Areas, and Tourism
My work has focused on how protected area governance dynamics change when new policies are put in place by governmental institutions. I have focused on how good governance and strong, intergenerational social capital are key for local communities to support protected area efforts. I have interviewed wide array of local stakeholders, from tour operators to neighboring Indigenous communities of protected areas in Bocas del Toro.
Climate Change and Tourism Development in Island Communities
More recently, through my fellowship with STRI, I have been studying the socio-economic impacts of coastal erosion in the islands. In Bocas del Toro, the coast is a common pool resource; the loss of space affects every aspect of how people interact with their landscape and with each other. I am currently writing about the different ways this loss has affected people’s livelihoods and relationships. I am also writing about resilience and adaptive capacity in a time when climate change has become a key issue in coastal tourist destinations.
Publications
Rojas, C., Boley, B. B., Mach, L., & Abrams, J. B. (2023). Expanding protected areas: a case for repairing intergenerational social capital rather than taking the path of least resistance. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 1-20.
Mach, L., Winner, C., Rojas, C., & Klemond, M. (2020). Protected area entry fees and governance quality. Tourism Management, 77, 104003.
Henry, C. M., Kiewra, L., Knight, E. M., Rojas, C., & Rushing, J. R. (2021). (Re) Centering socio-environmental justice: Thinking about co-management of and access to parks and protected areas in the United States. In Parks Stewardship Forum (Vol. 37, No. 3).
Deason, G., Seekamp, E., Terando, A., & Rojas, C. (2023). Tourist Perceptions of Climate Change Impacts on Mountain Ecotourism in Southern Mexico. Tourism and Hospitality, 4(3), 451-466.
Woosnam, K. M., Russell, Z., Ribeiro, M. A., Denley, T. J., Rojas, C., Hadjidakis, E., ... & Mower, J. (2022). Residents’ pro-tourism behaviour in a time of COVID-19. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 30(8), 1858-1877
