IICD supported project: Information on Conflicts and Negotiations in Communitarian Original Indigenous Lands in Bolivia

Countries: Bolivia [BO]
Sectors: governance humanrights

Summary

For over three centuries, indigenous groups in Bolivia have been fighting for the legalisation of the original indigenous territories. Started in 2001, CIDOB developed an information system (database and website) to track the process of land-right claims for Indigenous groups in Bolivia. Information is collected through the regional branches of CIDOB. Information is used to keep regional indigenous groups informed about the status of land right claims and to lobby for action at government level and international level.

Update

Updated: 2008-02-01

Explicit efforts have been made to improve Internet access and use and to provide training to indigenous leaders in rural areas. The demand for training by indigenous leaders is enormous with 925 persons trained over 2002 - mid 2005. Young future indigenous leaders of all 8 branches of CIDOB are also trained. Increasingly, regional offices and the central office take on operational costs of the project.

Objectives

To support their objectives, they have opted to set up a confederation of indigenous people, now representing 34 indigenous groups in the lowlands of Bolivia. To enhance the land claims, the confederation has entered negotiations with the government, resulting in the establishment of a law recognising the claims of indigenous groups on their original territories and providing in a mechanism for the expedition of related land titles. However, conflicts arise in the application of this law, impeding the actual legalisation of lands. Hitherto only a few of the 52 claims by indigenous groups have been settled. Once legalised, new conflicts arise over the exploitation of land by indigenous groups and competing private land owners and local governments.

To address this issue, the project will develop an information network providing information on the legalisation and management of community lands of indigenous people in Bolivia. The network will provide actualised information on both the legalisation proceses and the management of the territories. The information is used as a input for negotiations with the government. National and international agencies interest are also provided with actualised information on these issues, which can assist in lobby activities. As such, the project is to contribute to the realisation and monitoring of the agreements between the indigenous people and the government.

The members of CIDOB collect the information through its 8 regional offices. The information is send by Fax, E-mail or Internet to the central office of CIDOB in Santa Cruz. At the central office, data are collected and systemized in a dynamic database accessible through a website. Regional offices will have direct access to the information through the website or are informed via Fax or E-mail. The central office will use the information to support lobby activities at government level and through international NGOs and donor agencies.

The project team in the central office will receive training to allow for internal development of the system (based on MySQL, PHP and Dreamweaver). Responsible officers in the regional offices will receive training in information and system management.

Development Impacts

The network assists indigenous people in the legitimization of land titles and the exploitation of these lands, providing them with a stronger and legal basis of existance.

Market and finance

Beneficiaries include 32 indigenous groups and more than 1,500 communities, which have have disputes over 52 land claims. Each of these land claims constitute a vast extension of land, sometimes covering complete departments of Bolivia. National and international agencies, using the information for lobby activities, represent another important user group of this project.

Although the project is not financially sustainable initially, a major part of the human resources and other operational costs are taken over by members of CIDOB. On the longer term it is foreseen in contribution of beneficiaries on the basis of their revenues from the exploitation of lands.

Project Owner : Confederación de Pueblos Indigenas de Bolivia (CIDOB)

Project Contact : IICD