Indigenous Peoples and Conservation Organizations

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Signposts for the Road Ahead 143 views of the relationship between people and nature. This information is important to understand when talking to communities about conservation goals. Traditional knowledge is dynamic, not static as is often assumed. It is modified over time as communities interact with the external environment. But it is also eroding rapidly around the world, becoming stories rather than methodology—a trend which will be a great loss for peoples’ cultural integrity, and for conservation. Recognition of the importance of traditional knowledge is not only important to natural resource planning; recovering this knowledge reinforces cultural pride, helps communities understand how changes in their lifestyle are affecting the resource base, and mobilizes participation to implement remedies. Resource management planning is much more effective if there is a two-way exchange of information between biologists and indigenous groups about natural resources and their use. Local people have detailed knowledge about species that are important to them, but often a more limited understanding of the overall characteristics of the wider ecosystem and how resource use affects it. To benefit from each other’s knowledge, these two groups need to find more effective ways of communicating and understanding one another. The Xavante project in Brazil was among the first attempts to integrate hunters’ and biologists’ understandings of game management. In Papua New Guinea, scientists used traditional taxonomy to refine their own analyses and record the existence of two new species. The Brazil and Namibia cases show that by working with indigenous groups to develop management plans, Western scientists found indigenous knowledge useful in the establishment of wildlife refuge areas. An approach that worked in several cases was for biologists to develop resource management options (based on joint data collection) from which the community made the final selection. And because this process is grounded in dialogue, the plan that is selected incorporates procedures that allow for corrections as future circumstances dictate. Recommendations • Invest more in understanding and incorporating indigenous knowledge and world views into conservation planning. • Promote greater understanding and information exchange between modern scientists and indigenous peoples. Use joint data collection and analysis, especially mapping, as a tool for building skills and for discussing natural resource management issues and priorities. 1.4 Establishing Appropriate Project Processes The process or approach employed by a project can either create dependence on the donor or partner or build the community’s capacity and motivation to sustain the activity. A key issue in determining which outcome prevails is the project’s time frame and pace. Activities should be planned and implemented based on the community’s ability to participate, so that local resources can be mobilized and local people can take responsibility and credit for outcomes. For example, community decision making is often based on consensus, which takes time to generate. Spending time up front to build community skills and institutions also builds a foundation for sustainability. Short-term funding cycles and rigid project time frames do not give the community enough time to assess resource management issues, gather needed information, and generate and discuss options. Enabling the community to play a greater role in project implementation in areas like staffing will also increase their “ownership” of and ability to manage project activities. For example, in the Xavante project the community and the conservation organization jointly developed a list of three candidates for a game monitoring position, from which the community selected the finalist. In Namibia, the project provided funds for a biologist who was identified and managed by the community. Policies that expand local control over resource decision making are another important way to empower indigenous communities. In Namibia, the passage of the conservancy law, which WWF actively supported, helps the Ju/’hoan reinforce their borders and control incursions. This, in
144 Signposts for the Road Ahead turn, provides the security the community needs to invest in resource management. In Bolivia, a newly enacted forest law is positive in that it recognizes local communities’ role in natural resource management. However, some of its requirements, such as the stipulation that communities produce resource management plans endorsed by forest professionals, price local people out of the process and can bring community action to a standstill. Both cases show that policy issues do not stop with the drafting and passing of legislation but extend to engaging the administrative agencies charged with drawing up rules and procedures for implementation. A project’s scale of effort can also affect its sustainability. In general, the case studies showed that the most successful efforts were those that had relatively small budgets and were carried out over a relatively long period of time. Too big an infusion of outside resources and the introduction of complex technologies can overwhelm local accountability and result in overdependence on outside institutions. In Ecuador, collaboration among three communities on a timber processing enterprise was found to be both socially and technologically unsustainable. The fruit-processing effort that paralleled the wildlife management project in Brazil also suffered from the same drawbacks. In assessing the impact of this lesson on efforts to conserve resources at larger scales, one should not preclude the possibility of scaling up community-level conservation efforts. Such efforts, however, should be tested at smaller scales, carefully planned to ensure they are socially sound, and proceed at a pace that participants can handle. Recommendations • Ensure that community decision-making processes, the pace at which participants are prepared to proceed, and the need for capacity building are factored into project design and implementation. • Encourage donors to support more flexible project designs with longer time frames that can be adjusted midstream to respond to what is being learned. • Promote national policies that expand community control over natural resource stewardship and lobby for adequate funding to move policy from the drawing board to actual implementation. • Find ways to replicate successful smallscale efforts. II. Toward Building Conservation Partnerships with Indigenous Peoples WWF and other conservation organizations have recognized for some time that they need to work more effectively with a diverse range of stakeholders, including indigenous peoples, if conservation goals are to be achieved. Discussions at the 1998 workshop moved beyond what was involved in successful local projects to throw a spotlight on the potential for indigenous groups to be fully engaged as long-term conservation partners. It heightened awareness of indigenous peoples as important and unique conservation stakeholders, and generated recommendations for improving collaborative efforts with them. Regardless of the scale of the effort, successful collaboration between conservation organizations and indigenous peoples requires a foundation of mutual understanding and respect; a well-facilitated process of dialogue and negotiation; greater capacity built through acquisition of new skills and the creation of effective institutions; and a favorable policy environment. It is in these areas that conservation organizations need to make a significant investment. Drawing on the recommendations outlined above, and the principles of stakeholder collaboration that they represent, WWF’s work on indigenous issues moved forward on a number of new fronts in 1999: • In the Bering Sea ecoregion, covering portions of the United States and Russia, WWF and its partners have recognized indigenous peoples as key stakeholders. As a result, input from indigenous peoples is actively sought on the threats, problems, and conservation needs of the area. Activities carried out during the past two years included 1) support for a major native peoples’ summit that brought
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Indigenous Peoples and Conservation
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iv Acknowledgments The editors woul
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PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
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CHAPTER 3 Indigenous Federations an
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The Runa in Ecuador 23 Loreto Chont
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The Runa in Ecuador 25 Lower elevat
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The Runa in Ecuador 27 Figure 3.1 I
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The Runa in Ecuador 29 game animals
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The Runa in Ecuador 31 Table 3.2 Pr
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The Runa in Ecuador 33 Pacto Sumaco
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The Runa in Ecuador 37 agement cost
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CHAPTER 4 Lessons in Collaboration:
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CHAPTER 6 WWF’s Partnership with
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