We argue that attempts to superimpose park regulatory regimes on existing land uses in the tropics represent conflicts between alternative cultural models of natural resource management. The results of such conflcits are unique regulatory regimes emerging from distinctive processes that redefine the terms and limits of natural resource use. In creating scarcity of available resource, parks encourage social diffrentiation and greater awareness of societal patterns of inequality, establishing a potential for the articulation of demands for social and environmental equity. We evaluate these claims with a case study of the Cerro Azul Meambar National Park in Honduras. We base our analysis on 54 in-depth interviews of Park residents and five Park communities.
