By IPS Correspondents
BRUSSELS, Jun 24 2002 (IPS)

Representatives of 40 indigenous peoples organisations from Africa, Latin America and Asia have asked for direct participation in development projects funded by the European Union.

The delegates made the demand at a conference in Brussels last week.

The meeting organised by Rainforest Foundation UK, the International Alliance of Indigenous-Tribal Peoples of the Tropical Forests, and the European Commission was attended by representatives of 55 indigenous groups and 46 non-governmental organisations. The presence of 33 European Union (EU) officials and 18 government representatives meant that the views of the delegates got a fair hearing.

Indigenous people are among the oldest natives of a country, who have become minorities after centuries of migration. Their numbers vary. In Brazil they number less than 0.1 per cent of the population. In Peru they number 40 per cent.

There are about 5,000 indigenous groups in about 70 countries. Their population is estimated at 250 million. The rainforests alone are home to an estimated 50 million.

The conference asked the EU to recognise indigenous people as “political entities, as peoples and actors with authority over their own development”. The recommendations note that since most EU external relations are with states, innovative initiatives are needed to build relations with indigenous peoples.

The recommendations call on the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, to ensure that “the concerns of indigenous peoples can be incorporated into the projects.”

Poul Nielson, EU commissioner for development policy, agreed that securing access to land and natural resources is crucial for indigenous peoples. “The Commission is supporting land reform processes throughout Africa and Latin America with the aim of providing legal frameworks that respect existing customary rights over land”, he said at the conference.

Nielson said the EC would make an effort to incorporate conference recommendations in its policies. He admitted that development projects have too often been projections of the donors’ perceptions.

“I hope that the conference is only one step in the process of establishing new mechanisms for constructive dialogue between the European Union and indigenous peoples”, he said.

Delegates of indigenous peoples from Cameroon, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Panama, the Philippines and Thailand presented case studies to show how EU projects have affected their communities. The case studies were a mixed bag.

A study of the 30 million dollar Central Cordillera Agricultural Programme in the Philippines revealed that well-intentioned infrastructure projects led to rampant corruption at the local level.

On the other hand, reports on a programme targeted at the indigenous ‘Adivasi’ people in the hill region of Jharkhand in India were overwhelmingly positive. The report by Suhas Chakma from the Asian Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Network praises the participatory method of identifying and designing the project, as well as the employment of predominantly indigenous Adivasi professionals to implement it. The EU funds half (57,000 dollars) the cost of the programme to improve food security, economic development, health, education and cultural activities.

The delegates also highlighted both positive and negative experiences with NGOs. The conference agreed that NGOs must never claim to represent indigenous people, and that they should adopt a facilitative rather than an executive role. “They should never initiate projects without the implicit agreement of the communities concerned,” the conference concluded.

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