Annual Report2002

ForestPeoplesProject

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Forest Peoples Project

The Forest Peoples Project was established on 29 October 1999 as a company limited byguarantee to become the UK-registered charitable arm of the Forest Peoples Programme.The Forest Peoples Project was registered as a UK Charity in August 2000.

Aims and activities

Our aims are to support indigenous and tribal forest peoples to:promote their collective and individual rights;secure their lands and manage their natural resources;carry out sustainable community development;educate policy makers, agencies and civil society about their concerns and aspirations.

We work to achieve these aims by means oftechnical support, capacity building and policy advice for forest peoples;networking with NGOs, indigenous support organisations and agencies;researching and analysing the situation of forest peoples;providing information on forest peoples.

The Board and Staff

Our board : Area of expertise:Saskia Ozinga (Chair) Aid, trade and environmentNicholas Hildyard (Treasurer) Environment and development policyCarolyn Marr (Member) Indonesian peoples, forests and environmentTricia Feeney (Member) Development policyAlbert Kwokwo Barume (Member) Human rights lawyer

Our staff:Marcus Colchester DirectorDorothy Jackson Programme CoordinatorJohn Nelson Policy AdvisorLouise Henson Senior AdministratorLucy Mulvagh Project Support OfficerLindsay Hossack Project AdministratorJulie Manning Assistant Administrator

Cover picture: Twa dancing at Nyaruguru, Gikongoro Province, Rwanda.

Photo credits:all photos by Dorothy Jackson exceptpage 7, bottom right: Leo Blyth; page 9: John Nelson; Page 10: Ogiek Welfare Council;Page 11: Marcus Colchester.

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Overview of the year

Our overall long-term goal is improved social, economic and environmental living conditions for

indigenous and tribal forest peoples. We aim to contribute towards this goal by helping forest

peoples gain control over their futures through defending their own rights, developing sustainable

livelihood skills, engaging with policy makers and strengthening their capacity. Closely linked

to this is our work to influence the forest debate with the aim that forests are protected for

sustainable use by people with secure rights. Our work therefore adopts a rights-based approach

with strong advocacy and capacity building components. Currently we are working with

indigenous ‘Pygmy’ peoples in central Africa, with indigenous peoples in Guyana and with

Evenki reindeer herders in Siberia. During 2002 our activities covered four main areas:

sustainable livelihoods and community development; influencing policy and practice affecting

indigenous peoples; community land use mapping; and networking, information and support to

local struggles.

We completed a successful first year of a 5-year integrated sustainable livelihoods, educationand advocacy project with the Twa of Rwanda. Nearly 1000 Twa people have benefited directlyfrom community development activities, increasing their food security and incomes, 40 secondaryschool children are being supported and the Twa made important gains in advocacy and humanrights.

The first year of our project to commercialise Twa pottery was completed with 90 pottersreceiving basic training in business development and improved technology, and the revitalisationof a sales outlet in Kigali.

Our feasibility study of solar power for Twa communities worked with 13 Twa communities inRwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo to identify appropriate low-cost solar products andpossibilities for local assembly and distribution.

Our 3-year project to support Bagyeli communities affected by the Chad-Cameroon oil pipelinebegan in June, with field consultations and capacity building community meetings well underway, as well as dialogue with decision-makers involved in pipeline projects.

We continued to support the 3000 Ugandan Twa affected by the Mgahinga and BwindiImpenetrable Forest national parks, to press for land allocation and maintain dialogue with theconservation authorities, resulting in greater awareness of Twa needs and rights.

Our project on Parks and Peoples in Africa, now in its second year, supported 10 indigenouscommunities in 7 African countries to dialogue with conservation authorities, increasing theirunderstanding of the rights claimed by indigenous peoples.

We organised training for indigenous peoples in community land mapping, helping indigenouspeople in Guyana learn from staff of a Venezuelan mapping project, and laying the groundworkfor community mapping with the Evenki people of Siberia.

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Sustainable livelihoods, educationand advocacy for the Twa of Rwanda

In January 2002, in collaboration with our Twapartner organisation CAURWA and withfunding from Comic Relief, we started a five-year project with the indigenous Twacommunities of Rwanda, a group whoserights have long been violated, and which isnow one of the poorest sectors in Rwandansociety. The project integrates human rights,income generating activities and educationwith cross-cutting advocacy and capacitybuilding activities.

FPP helped CAURWA restructure itselffrom an umbrella organisation for several Twaorganisations into an independent NGO in its ownright, with a new elected governing body. InMarch 2002 the restructured CAURWA waslegally recognised by the Rwandan authoritiesas an indigenous organisation workingexplicitly for the benefit of Twa people, therebyincreasing its status and public profile as anadvocate for the rights of Twa people.

CAURWA opened regional offices inGikongoro and Gitarama provinces andexpanded its network of communityvolunteers (antennes) to 10 (seven men, threewomen) covering 10 provinces. The antennesprovide links between Twa communities, localauthorities, and CAURWA. Information flowbetween CAURWA and the communities hasincreased, local officials are better informedabout the Twa’s situation and Twacommunities are better informed aboutservices organised by local authorities.

CAURWA’s Director visited local authoritiesin six districts to support the antennes’ workand raise issues of land, health, educationand housing. Local authorities welcome theantennes, valuing their reports and their localexpertise in Twa issues.

FPP worked with CAURWA to build itsorganisational capacity, includingorganisational systems, project planning andmanagement, monitoring and evaluation andfund-raising. We also helped CAURWAstrengthen links with many policy bodies,development agencies, human rightsagencies, technical experts and funders atnational and international level, thusbroadening its support base and increasingnational and international awareness ofBatwa issues and CAURWA’s work.

Human rights

CAURWA’s aim is to increase Twaparticipation in national policy and civil societyissues and increase official and publicawareness about Twa concerns. During2002, CAURWA dialogued with Rwanda’sPoverty Reduction Strategy (PRS), to highlightconcerns that the PRS would not reachmarginalised groups like the Twa. In ameeting, organised by CAURWA, of Twaorganisations and Twa communityrepresentatives with the ConstitutionCommission, the Twa pressed for Rwanda’snew constitution to increase therepresentation of Twa at all administrativelevels, include Twa in land distribution,recognise Twa as a disadvantaged groupneeding particular attention, and providesupport for Twa education.

CAURWA has started lobbying onRwanda’s draft land code, which proposesvarious measures for land concentration, andis likely to further increase Twa landlessness.Data collected by CAURWA’s antennes fromCyangugu province shows that 88% of Twahouseholds lack agricultural land, comparedwith 11% in the general population. However,through the sustainable livelihoodsprogramme (see below), and lobbying by theantennes, Twa communities have secureduse rights to state-owned marsh land.

CAURWA’s Director talking tomembers of a Twa association inKanazi, Kigali Rurale. Localauthorities took land from thiscommunity to build a plannedsettlement (imidugudu). The Twawere demoralised and destitute,but with CAURWA’s help theyhave organised themselves andare now a dynamic community.

CAURWA’s regional office, andone of the extension workers.

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one meal a day. A fifth of the communityassociations are engaged in additionalincome-generating activities such astilemaking, sewing, production of improvedstoves or basketmaking, with inputs andtraining provided by CAURWA. A third of theassociations have opened joint bank accountsor have access to local credit. For the firsttime they have financial assets, and are usingthem to meet urgent needs, to pay forschooling, decent clothing, membership ofagricultural collectives and enrolment inhealth insurance schemes, or to buy land.

During 2002, CAURWA built 35 housesfor Twa communities in Gikongoro and Butareprovinces. The Twa were invoved in theconstruction, thereby gaining skills inmasonry and roofing.

Education

CAURWA’s education programme sensitisedthe Twa communities in the project about theimportance of schooling and obtainedmaterial support for primary school childrenfrom half a dozen local agencies and NGOs.CAURWA also provided bursaries and schoolmaterials for 43 Twa secondary school pupils(31 boys and 12 girls). Holiday supportmeetings were organised in January andSeptember at which the students set up theirown committee and discussed issues andconcerns. One of the students has now beenemployed as a CAURWA extension worker inCyangugu province.

CAURWA’s adult literacy programmeuses the REFLECT method, which is basedon PRA methods to develop themes andvocabulary rooted in the communities’ ownexperience and environment, and has beenpromoted worldwide by Action Aid. CAURWAis pioneering the REFLECT approach inRwanda. During 2002, CAURWA supportedfive literacy circles in three provinces,comprising 145 students (53 men and 92women). Each circle was equipped withteaching materials and has two REFLECTfacilitators chosen by the communities andtrained by CAURWA. Sixty percent of thestudents can now read and write words withmore than one consonant.

CAURWA’s antennes beingtrained in how to fill in a surveyform to collect data about Twacommunities.

CAURWA is setting up a legal support officeto provide assistance to Twa whose land hasbeen expropriated or who have suffered otherhuman rights violations. Twa representativeswere trained in the traditional Gacaca justiceprocess that will judge people accused of thelower categories of genocide crimes. Theantennes have encouraged communities toparticipate actively in the process so that theTwa’s suffering in the genocide is publiclyrecognised. CAURWA is continuing todocument Twa prisoners and providehumanitarian assistance to them. CAURWA’sannual human rights seminar enabled Twacommunity representatives to dialogue withthe representatives of the Rwandan HumanRights Commission, the Unity andReconciliation process, Gacaca and PRS.

The antennes are helping Twacommunities to play a more active role in civilsociety and local structures. There are nowsome dozen Twa in different localadministrative positions including localdefence team, women’s committee,Community Development Committee andNyumbakumi (head of 10 households).CAURWA participated at the Durban WorldSummit as a member of the official Rwandancivil society delegation, and is a member oftwo civil society networks. CAURWA was alsoactive at international level, notably at theAfrican Commission’s Working Group onIndigenous Populations, at which CAURWA’sDirector is one of three indigenous experts.

Sustainable livelihoods

CAURWA’s sustainable livelihoodsprogramme is supporting 52 Twa communityassociations in five provinces with trainingand inputs in entrepreneurship, agricultureand animal husbandry. Most of the 995 directbeneficiaries and 4975 indirect beneficiariesare women. CAURWA is thereby reaching 19-22% of the total Rwandan Twa population,estimated at 22,000 to 25,000 people.

The project’s activities have increasedfood security in the target communities, andgenerated small cash incomes.Communities now have more regular foodsupplies and families report eating at least

Below top: Twa school girlsdancing to celebrate new housesat Kimina.

Below bottom: Twa communitiesin Gikongoro and Butareshowing their potato fields androof tile production.

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As the Rwandan forests were cleared forfarming and cattle pasture, the Twa could nolonger survive from hunting and gathering inthe forests and developed alternativelivelihoods as potters. Many Twacommunities, particularly the women, nowmake pots, and see this as their main sourceof income, but due to low product quality andlack of marketing this is often a loss-makingactivity. To tackle this problem, in December2001 we began a project, in collaboration withour partner CAURWA, to commercialise Twapottery, based on Fair Trade principles. Theproject is funded by the Community Fund, andthe Onaway Trust with additionalcontributions from local donors in Rwanda.

The project works with potting communitiesto improve the quality and quantity ofproduction and with a retail outlet in the capitalKigali to increase markets and sales.

Six potters groups (90 potters) receivedinitial community-based training in fair tradeprinciples, Partnerships and TradingAgreements, costing, pricing and businessdevelopment, and how to set up and managea community-based association. The pottershave set up their own association to exchangeideas and information, to represent potters inthe project, and to carry out advocacy tosupport potters’ interests, in collaboration withCAURWA’s advocacy and human rightsprogramme.

The project’s retail team of four staff (threefemale, one male) were trained in businessand retail skills, including book-keeping;

Twa pottery: incomegeneration through Fair Trade

product ordering and sampling from producergroups; stock control; and marketing. Theyalso had English language training and initialtraining in monitoring and evaluation.

To start improving quality of pots, theproject brought an experienced technicalspecialist from Malawi to assess clay qualityand technological needs, and train the pottersgroups in production technology and newproduct design. The product range wasexpanded with 10 new design samplesproduced for local hotels and overseas craftimporters. The project helped potters groupsobtain funds for kilns and warehousing.

To improve marketing the project hasbegun training the retail staff in qualityassurance, market research, publicity andpromotion. The pottery enterprise waspublicised through pottery displays in hotels,bookshops and travel agents, advertisingleaflets and radio announcements. Theproject is included in the Rwandangovernment’s tourism strategy and has linkswith many local NGOs and agencies includingtour companies, through which tourists canvisit potting communities. The project is alsodeveloping links with national craft marketingcooperatives, international craft federationsand international buyers. These links haveincreased national and internationalawareness of the Twa potters and theirsituation. Pottery sales have increased andwill continue to increase as this year’scapacity building inputs with the communitiesbegin to bear fruit and the market expands.

The pottery sales outlet in thecapital, Kigali.

Above: carrying pots to market.

Below: Making improved stovesthat reduce fuel consumption andgive a more even heat.

The project is helping Twa potters design andproduce a range of modern products.

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Following requests from the Twaorganisations PIDP in Democratic Republicof Congo (DRC), and CAURWA in Rwanda,we carried out a study to assess the feasibilityof developing solar-powered technology forTwa communities. PIDP produces a weeklyradio programme for Twa communities livingaround the Kahuzi-Biega National Park insouth Kivu, but the impacts of this on Twacommunities are limited as very few Twafamilies have a radio, and buying batteries isvirtually impossible for households withoutany cash income. Provision of low-cost solarpowered radios would increase Twacommunities’ access to information, reducecosts of buying batteries and reduceenvironmental damage from battery disposal.Low-cost solar lighting may also assist thesecommunities to improve their living conditions.

The study was funded by the WestcroftTrust, the William Adlington CadburyCharitable Trust, Grassroots Foundation,British Embassy in Kigali and RainforestFoundation UK. It was carried out by a solartechnology specialist, Leo Blyth, facilitated byFPP, using materials supplied by the UK non-profit organisation BioDesign, that hasdeveloped various ‘Do-It-Yourself’ (DIY)techniques for the low-cost assembly of smalland simple solar technologies.

The aim of the study was to identify low-cost designs and assembly strategies forsolar powered radios and radio-cassettes,and explore other solar applications that couldbenefit rural Twa and Twa NGOs.

A series of demonstrations andconsultations were held with eight Twacommunities in DRC and five Twacommunities in Rwanda as well as TwaNGOs, private companies, educationalestablishments, national and local officialsand development projects.

This led to the development of a range ofDIY Solar technologies, which weredemonstrated and evaluated in thecommunities to identify which were mostappropriate.

An evaluation of local capacity andresources was also carried out, to determinetheir availability and accessibility in order toassemble and deliver the technologies.

Solar-powered technology for Twa communities

A parallel assessment was also madeof whether local assembly would be a viableand sustainable means of supporting thecommunities. This analysis led to the designof a framework for developing andtransferring technology to the communitiesand four possible strategies.

The findings of the study stronglyindicated that local assembly, distributionand/or use of the proposed DIY Solartechnologies would bring practical benefitsand opportunities to Twa communities andtheir support NGOs. The assembly anddistribution of these low-cost systems cancreate income-generating and capacitybuilding opportunities for NGO staff, smallcommunity enterprises and enterprisingindividuals within Twa communities.

Batwa communities would benefit mostthrough access to radio-cassette recorder-players and a self-sufficient solar powersupply. Secondary benefits are also likely tostem from the strengthening and cohesiveinfluence that collective use of solar poweredradio-cassettes has within communities.The report is being translated into French toshare the findings with our partners incentral Africa, following which we will holdfurther consultations to find out how ourpartners want to proceed.

The full report is available on our website:www.forestpeoples.org

Solar expert Leo Blyth,demonstrating technology to Twain Rwanda.

A Congolese Twa communitywith a solar-powered radio.

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The Twa of the Mgahinga and BwindiImpenetrable Forests, Uganda

In south-west Uganda, Twa people wereexpelled from the Bwindi and Mgahinga forestsin the 1930s and settled on the edges of theforests where they continued to have accessto forest resources. This access was finallyprohibited when the Bwindi and Mgahingareserves were gazetted as national parks in1991. The Mgahinga and BwindiImpenetrable Forest Conservation Trust(MBIFCT) was set up to protect the two forestparks, funded by the Global EnvironmentalFacility (GEF) and to carry out developmentactivities with local communities to mitigatethe impact of the parks. The closure of theforests caused many of the Twa to move froma fairly independent existence to beinglandless impoverished squatters, forced tosurvive by working for local farmers. Our sisterorganisation the Forest Peoples Programmehas worked since 2000 with the Ugandan Twaand their organisation UOBDU (UnitedOrganisation for Batwa Development inUganda). During 2002, the Forest PeoplesProject took over the support work with theUgandan Twa, funded by the Swedish Societyfor Nature Conservation. The aim is to helpthe Twa enter into dialogue with the Trust, toincrease their participation in Trust decision-making and ensure that the Trust’s landpurchase programme, set up to compensatethe Twa evicted from the parks, is properlyimplemented.

In July 2002 the Trust’s land purchaseprogramme was closed down, due to the lackof growth of the GEF endowment fund on thestock market, resulting in a shortfall in funding.The Twa land programme was partly

reinstated after protests from FPP andUOBDU, but the Trust officer who had beenmanaging Twa land purchases, and who hadbegun to work with UOBDU, had his contractterminated. The Trust’s remaining Twaprogramme is now split between two differentpeople within other sections of the Trust, andis due to end in February 2003, with potentiallysevere consequences for the Twa who haveno other means of securing land orlivelihoods. FPP is continuing to dialogue withthe agencies involved in order to find asolution.

FPP co-financed and facilitated aworkshop in May, in Kabale, Uganda betweenTwa community members of UOBDU andDistrict Officials to discuss the policies andprogrammes affecting the Twa. In July weorganised and facilitated another workshopin Kisoro, between conservation authoritiesfrom Bwindi and Mgahinga National Parksand Twa representatives from the threedistricts ajoining the parks. The results ofthese meetings were that

* government authorities and developmentorganisations agreed to collaborate better intheir work with the Twa

* NGOs working with Twa agreed that theyneed to design and implement theirprogrammes more effectively

* The problems with the Trust fund wereaired to a wider audience, although nosolutions were found

* Plans for concrete actions relating to Twaforest use were proposed by the UgandaWildlife Authority and CARE’s multiple forestuser programme.

Above: Twa community membersin Kabare District.

Below: winnowing trays madefrom forest vines.

The Bwindi forest.

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Bagyeli communities and the Chad-Cameroon Pipeline, Cameroon

The 4000 Bagyeli ‘Pygmy’ people live in thesouth-west of Cameroon, where theirtraditional lands are traversed by thecontroversial Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline,underwritten by the World Bank. Our previouswork with the Bagyeli showed that initialconsultations carried out by the pipelineproject did not inform the Bagyeli adequatelyabout the effects of the pipeline and that, byfavouring the interests of settled farmers, thepipeline was likely to impoverish anddisempower the Bagyeli.

This year we have been monitoring theFoundation for Environment and Developmentin Cameroon (FEDEC) and the administrationof the FEDEC fund. This fund is mandated tofinance the preparation of an IndigenousPeoples Plan (IPP) in consultation with theBagyeli community, as well the protection ofCampo Ma’an National Park and MbamDjerem National Park, as part ofenvironmental mitigation for the pipelineconstruction. The Campo Ma’an National Parkoverlaps Bagyeli traditional hunting areas andwill limit Bagyeli hunting and livelihoodactivities, thereby actually worsening theirsituation.

We raised our concerns with FEDECboard members and the International AdvisoryGroup (IAG) set up by the World Bank tomonitor project implementation, that theFEDEC Programme was not achieving itsobjectives. As a result the IAG visited FPP’spartners in Cameroon to gather informationabout the pipeline’s impacts on the Bagyeli,and discuss FEDEC.

In June 2002, we launched a three-yearproject building on our work with Bagyelipeople since 2000. The project’s aims are tosupport Bagyeli to gain more control over thepipeline process and to protect their landsand livelihoods. This work includes buildingthe Bagyelis’ information base, skills andconfidence; helping Bagyeli to secure accessto their natural resource base; and supportingthe development of new institutionalmechanisms that promote equitable dialoguebetween Bagyeli and their Bantu neighbours.The project is carried out in collaboration withtwo local NGOs, Planet Survey and the Centrefor Environment and Development (CED).

The work is funded by the UK Department forInternational Development and Comic Relief.

The project is carrying out a populationcensus and background research. We haveorganised meetings to bring together Bagyelipeople from different communities to identifycapacity building needs and discuss theimpact of the pipeline on the Bagyelis’ landtenure situation, the inadequateimplementation of the Indigenous PeoplesPlan by FEDEC, and the draft managementplan for Campo Ma’an National Park.

In November FPP met with representativesof FEDEC, Planet Survey and CED to discussBagyeli representation in the development ofthe IPP. We also raised FPP’s seriousconcerns about the rapid growth of FEDEC’sfield activities, which are beyond FEDEC’sremit and are causing conflict and confusionamongst Bagyeli communities, and thecomplete lack of Bagyeli involvement in theIPP. FPP is working to promote opencollaboration between Bagyeli communityrepresentatives and FEDEC so that the IPPwill reflect Bagyeli priorities and their livelihoodsituation.

The project also involves the mapping ofBagyeli lands. FPP is supporting our partnerNGOs CED and Planet Survey to build up theircommunity mapping capacity by field trainingfor NGO workers and communityrepresentatives. We will also fund thepurchase of new mapping technologies. Theproduction of community maps documentingBagyeli and Baka land use and culturalheritage will enable these communities toassert their rights to land.

Bagyeli village, south-westCameroon.

Bagyeli forest camp.

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This project follows on from two previousprojects carried out by FPP in Latin Americaand Asia to examine the obstacles preventingthe implementation of new, internationallyagreed, conservation principles that upholdindigenous peoples’ rights to land and controlover their resources. It is funded by theCommunity Fund.

The project enabled representatives from10 indigenous communities in seven Africancountries (South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya,Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo,Uganda and Cameroon) to document theimpact of protected areas (national parks,nature reserves etc) on their livelihoods andland security. The communities presentedthese cases at a conference, also attendedby conservation organisations, which FPP co-organised with CAURWA in Kigali during2001.

During 2002, FPP followed up the Kigaliconference by producing draft conferenceproceedings for comment by participants. Apublication summarising the lessons of theproject will be published during 2003. Inaddition during 2002, we

financed further community consultationsin all of the 10 case study areas andcommissioned follow-up reports on theevolution of events in each of the casestudy areas;arranged an external project evaluationwhich involved field visits to five of the 10case study areas;

commissioned and facilitated a video ofcommunity consultations about theimpacts of protected areas on indigenouspeoples. Filming took place in Novemberwith communities in and around CampoMa’an National Park, the Dja WildlifeReserve and Lobéké National Park,Cameroon;facilitated preparatory research work by aUK-based researcher on Ugandan Twahistory and land claims, and the promotionof their rights within the protected areascontrolled by the Ugandan WildlifeAuthority.

Our project has had the following impacts inthe seven countries:

Bagyeli interests will now be taken intoaccount in the final management plan forCampo Ma’an National Park, Cameroon;Baka and representatives of theconservation agency ECOFAC have metfor the first time ever to begin a dialogueto help overcome the longstandingimpacts of the Dja Reserve, Cameroon,on Baka livelihoods;The situation of Baka in and aroundLobéké and Boumba Bek National Parks,Cameroon, has been documented.Channels of dialogue between FPP, Bakacommunities and conservation authoritiesover their marginalisation and land rightshave been established, and will beconsolidated during 2003;In south-west Uganda Twa communitieshave held several large meetings withconservation authorities to call for newrules of forest access that take into accountthe Twa’s special attachment to therestricted forests in the Bwindi andMgahinga National Parks. Conservationauthorities have begun to openlyacknowledge the increased role Twashould play in the parks’ management;In Rwanda, conservation authorities areworking with Twa to develop new rules offorest access and alternative livelihooddevelopment strategies for communitiesaround Nyungwe Forest;In Kenya, the Ogiek’s work to documenttheir situation has fed into processes to

Indigenous Peoples and Protected Areas inAfrica: from Principles to Practice

Ogiek hunting.

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GuyanaWe provided funds from the Eden Bequest toFPP to assist training staff of the AmerindianPeoples Association in Guyana in the use ofmap-making software. The training will takeplace in 2003.

SiberiaThe Evenki are a reindeer-herding, hunting,fishing and trapping people, whosesettlements, lands and herds were heavilycentralised during the Soviet era. Under theSoviet system, the Evenki were reorganisedinto centrally administered State collectivefarms and the communities became heavilydependent on subsidised military transport,government handouts and cheap munitions,trapping kits and fuel. Since the collapse ofthe Soviet system, conditions in Evenkivillages have become subhuman, with thefailure of transport, food supply and heatingsystems. Malnutrition, social collapse andmedieval levels of life expectancy haveresulted. The Evenki, through theirorganisation, Arun (‘Rebirth’ in the Evenkilanguage), are now struggling to re-establishthemselves on the land and seek recognitionof their land rights, vital now that they are in amarket economy - though without readyaccess to markets.

We secured funds from a private trust toassist the Evenki to map and claim their lands.In early 2002, two FPP consultants travelledwith mapping hardware and software up tothe Evenki area, accompanied by staff fromthe national indigenous peoplesorganisation, RAIPON, and hosted by Arun.

During the two-week visit the teamdeveloped methods for training the Evenki incommunity land use mapping, but severalobstacles, left over from the Soviet era, werealso identified that could hinder the project.Russian laws restrict the use of governmentmaps, prohibit the plotting of boundaries andthe positions of landscape elements and theuse of Global Positioning System devices,without special permits. After lengthy legalresearch and negotiation of institutionalsupport for the project, by late 2002 the wayseemed clear for the second stage of theproject. This is now scheduled for mid-2003.

Laying the foundations for communitymapping in Guyana and Siberia

develop new constitutional clausesgoverning indigenous rights to land inKenya which hopefully now will beimplemented under the new government’sconstitution;In Tanzania, Maasai communities fromaround Ngorongoro face increasingpressure from conservationists to vacatetheir lands, and up to 50,000 Maasai willbe forced to move under new rules beingdeveloped through the new, conservation-dominated authorities. The projectenabled Maasai representatives toproduce reports to support lobbyingactivities, and to continue to challengeconservation organisations over theplanned evictions.In South Africa, FPP supported a Sannegotiating team to secure a strongnegotiating position and the restitution ofrights to a significant part of the KgalagadiNational Park; In DRC, FPP helped fund an assessmentof local NGO capacities in order to supportgreater Twa participation in themanagement of Kahuzi-Biega NationalPark. We also provided funding to supportMbuti and Efe Pygmy communities fromconflict-torn Ituri District, who are nowfacing genocide by local armed militiasoperating near the Okapi Reserve.

Related to this work, FPP has continued todocument the situation of Baka from south-east Cameroon, whose customary rights toland are under tremendous pressure fromnew forest conservation rules devised forLobéké and Boumba Bek National Parks, andthe protected areas around them which havebeen established without Baka involvement.In many parts of this region Baka are in themajority, yet they face persistent andsignificant marginalisation by government andthe local conservation authorities in decisionsabout the allocation of forest rights. FPP hascarried out community consultations withBaka across this remote region and begun tochallenge conservation authorities about theBaka’s situation. FPP is now working toidentify ways of providing sustained supportto enable Baka to secure their rights.

A planning session withmembers of an Amerindiancommunity.

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field projects 54%

travel, monitoring & evaluation

9%

translation & publications

2%

UK & overseas salaries & fees

30%

administration, equipment &

training 5%

Income and Expenditure

Jackson D. Pygmy resurgence: an indigenous movementin Central Africa. Paper to be published by IWGIA in 2003

Jackson D. The Indigenous World by Regions andCountries: Central Africa. The Indigenous World 2001-2002. IWGIA 2002

Jackson D. Rwanda: Dispossessed Twa people pressfor recognition. WRM Bulletin 62: Indigenous Peoples.September 2002. http://www.wrm.org.uy

Jackson D. Sustainable livelihoods for Pygmy peoples.Paper for IWGIA seminar on Indigenous Peoples andPoverty, 13-16 November 2002, Tomellila, Sweden.

Jackson D. Batwa women and women’s rights. Paperfor MRG Regional Workshop on Peace, Reconciliationand Human Rights. Promoting the Rights of the BatwaPygmies: Recognition, Representation and Cooperation.17-19 December 2002, Kigali, Rwanda.

Mulvagh, L. Rwanda’s Poverty Reduction StrategyProcess. Briefing paper for CAURWA. November 2002

Forest Peoples Project. The Forest Peoples’ Project andCAURWA. RWANDA – behind the headlines, Newsletterof Friends of Rwanda No 2 : July 2002.janicemv@anchor43.fsnet.co.uk

Nelson, J. Sub-Saharan Africa. In Colchester, M, F MacKay,T Griffiths and J Nelson (2002) A Survey of IndigenousLand Tenure: A report for the Land Tenure Service of theFood and Agricultural Association. Rome: FAO

Nelson, J and N. Gami. Enhancing equity in therelationship between protected areas and indigenousand local communities in Central Africa, in the context ofglobal change. TILCEPA Regional Briefing Paper.Geneva: IUCN. January 2003.

Publications Sources of fundingWe gratefully acknowledge the following sources offunding:Anonymous BenefactorBritish Embassy KigaliComic ReliefCommunity FundDepartment for International Development (DFID)The Eden BequestGrassroots FoundationOnaway TrustRainforest Foundation UKRowan Charitable TrustSwedish Society for Nature ConservationWestcroft TrustWilliam Adlington Cadbury Charitable Trust

Forest Peoples Project1c Fosseway Business Centre,

Moreton-in-Marsh GL56 9NQ, UKtel: 01608 652893 fax: 01608 652878

A company limited by guarantee (England & Wales)Registration No: 3868836 Registered Charity No. 1082158

Expenditure: £288,414

Expenditure:£288,437

Income: £406,546

Income:£406,546

Grants: 87%

Donations: 13%