Anthropologists have long recognized the central role of social systems in enhancing environmental sustainability, but few have attempted to accurately assess the conditions under which traditional social institutions can equitably and effectively manage access to natural resources for the purposes of their use and conservation. By failing to look closely at how resource management practices are shaped both by local-level cultural institutions and the political and economic forces of government policies and markets, anthropologists have compounded the confusion surrounding the functions and capacities of traditional resource management institutions.This dissertation examines the connections between institutional and economic incentives and resource use and management decisions among the Naso indigenous people in Bocas del Toro, Panama. The study incorporates insights from development anthropology, common property systems and political ecology to develop a multi-sited approach that uses multiple research methods. A detailed household survey (n=54 or 18% of Naso households located within the eight villages surveyed in 2004) was used to obtain socio-demographic data and to establish patterns of land tenure and resource use. Preliminary and follow-up interviews were also conducted with community leaders, government officials and representatives of various national and international organizations with a stake in the conservation and/or development of the Naso region.As a group, the Naso were found to use both indigenous and imported technologies to manage a wide range of natural resources towards ensuring the economic, cultural and ecological viability of their communities. However, recent legislation intended to recognize Naso land rights and a hydroelectric project nearing construction on Naso lands have sought to modify the formal rules and organizations that have traditionally served to order local resource tenure and management practices. This thesis analyses the guidelines and criteria invoked by the various stakeholders involved with these projects in order to assess the equity of the distribution of their social and environmental impacts. It highlights the need to become more sceptical and sophisticated when assessing the objectives and justifications provided by the academics, government agencies, local authorities and private companies involved in the conservation and development of indigenous peoples' territorial resources