ECUADOR - Land Tenure and Property Rights Portal

6.0 SUSTAINABILITY OF LTPRAND NRM ACHIEVEMENTSThe sustainability of CAIMAN’s territorial consolidation activities and PSUR’s natural resources managementcomponent can be assessed through multiple lenses as detailed below:Cultural and Social Sustainability: There have been positive changes in public opinion on natural resourceconservation both at the national and indigenous community levels. Civil society’s increasing conservationconsciousness, foreign and local activism, and cultural tendencies of certain indigenous communities (e.g., thepro-conservation values and attitudes of the Cofán) all help foster sustainability of project activities.Institutional Sustainability: Strong local organizations combined with efficient and active government (atlocal and national levels) are necessary for the long-term sustainability of any intervention. A level ofsustainability has clearly been attained through increasing FEINCE’s financial, administrative, and technicalcapacities to defend Cofán territory. Likewise, there is both the political atmosphere and established policiesthat favor the integrity of indigenous groups’ territorial rights. However, much needs to be done tostrengthen the role and increase the financial and technical resources of specialized government agencies(particularly the MOE and INDA) so that they can more effectively contribute to the protection of theenvironment and enforcement of indigenous groups’ territorial rights.Economic Sustainability: Effective, conservation-friendly ways to generate income for indigenous peoplehave yet to be widely introduced and expanded in the northern and southern border areas. Appropriate typesof economic activities should take into account the constraints inherent in local markets, distance andassociated transport costs to access markets, and the limited education and business skills among indigenouspeople. Alternate employment options that promote conservation can include: income generation fromendowment funds, payment for environmental services, as well as government reinvestments in conservationservice performed by communities (for example, allocating park entrance fees to pay park guards) should beconsidered within future project programming. In the long term, conservation in indigenous territories willnot succeed unless people occupying those areas embrace income-generating alternatives to logging and otherextractive pursuits.Political Sustainability: The assessment has highlighted the importance of separating the technical aspectsof LTPR and NRM from its political elements. One factor that appears to be contributing to FEINCE’seffectiveness is that its technical capacity to support land titling is drawn from outside the political arm of theorganization. As well, FEINCE is currently discussing internal rules that would prevent technical andadministrative staff from turning over when leadership changes. At the national level, divisive politicaldebates persist on the topic of indigenous territorial rights, such as the amount of land and control of naturalresources that indigenous groups (a small minority in Ecuadorian society) should maintain. The sustainabilityof interventions supporting indigenous land rights will therefore depend on how that debate is managed andthe relative strength of competing forces.Sustainability of CAIMAN and PSUR Impact: Since termination of the CAIMAN project, stakeholdersinterviewed for this assessment did not indicate a decline in FEINCE’s effectiveness or in Cofáncommitment to secure their territorial rights. Instead, examples were provided of the Cofán’s emerging abilityand capacity to maintain and protect borders and negotiate with external stakeholders. In the short-run, thisINDIGENOUS TERRITORIAL RIGHTS IN ECUADOR: RAPID IMPACT ASSESSMENT 23