Comarca
History
The Emberá and Wounaan peoples have their own historical trajectories connected to the Chocó-Darién region, a cultural and ecological landscape that predates the borders between Panama and Colombia. In Panama's Darién, their communities developed in close relationship with rivers: dugout canoes and, later, motorized boats connected homes, farms, schools and villages, so the territory is better understood through watersheds than roads. During the twentieth century, Indigenous political organization took on new forms to defend territory and negotiate with the state. Law 22 of 1983 created the comarca from two areas separated from the districts of Chepigana and Pinogana — the origin of its non-contiguous structure — organized into the districts of Cémaco and Sambú with Unión Chocó as capital. In 1999, its Administrative Organic Charter was adopted, defining the workings of its congresses and traditional authorities. Recent history combines livelihoods and conservation: family agriculture, fishing and craftsmanship sustain the communities, while community forest management and the recovery of species such as chunga palm and tagua seek to balance income with forest protection. The comarca forms part of one of Panama's most important forest landscapes, with exceptional carbon storage and tree diversity, facing pressures such as deforestation and contemporary migration movements.