Participation and Indigenous People

~~~E N V I R Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized ON M E N T D E P A R T M E N T __ 4 '^^5 MIi*' PA-PE RS TOWARNDS Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized _ SVSTAIABLE DEVELOPMEN1F FILECOPrY WVorldBank Participation Sourcebook June 1995 Environmentally Sustainable Development TheWorldBank hA SocialPolicyandResettlement Division -~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -WorldBank Participation Sourcebook June 1995 FOREWORD "Tzroughparticipation, we lost 'control' of the project, and in so doing gained ownershipand sustainability, precious things in our business." From a World Bank Task Manager Participation is a rich concept, meaning different things to different people in different settings. For some, it is a matter of principle; for others, a practice; and, for still others, an end in itself. There is merit in all these interpretations. However, the Sourcebook follows the definition of participation adopted by the Bank's Learning Group on Participatory Development. 'artzapation is a process through which staceholders inflzuence and share control over development iniiatives, anadthe decisions and resources which affiea them." What we wanted to discover in writing this Sourcebookwas how this could be achieved. To do so, we turned to our colleagues who contributed their experience and advice. It is this experience, its successesand frustrations, which we have tried to capture for Bank staff. The Sourcebook is not a policy document on participation; nor is it for cover-to-cover reading. It does not seek to persuade anyone (other than through example) to use participatory approaches. In preparing it, we are assuming that the people reading this Sourcebook have already decided to use participatory approaches in their professional work. How you read the Sourcebook is up to you. Once you have done so, however, we hope you will find it has strengthened your ideas about participation and about the ways you do your work. We also hope you agree that these new ways of working can improve projects, contribute to the development process, and help reach the poor. ACiKNOWLEDGMENTS Participatory approaches to development activitieshave beenpioneered and practiced for many decades by scholars and comiminty workers, government bureaucrats and NGO practitioners. Indeed, the Bank is fortunate in being able to draw from the vast body of liteaue and from the pathbreaking work of the individuals and institutionsthat have moved participation forward. We are most grateful to development colleagues outside the Bank whose experiences and support we've relied upon in learning how to apply participatoryapproachesin our work. The Participation Sourcebookhas been prepared by the EnvironmentDepartment's Division for Social Policy (ENVSP). It was written by a team led by Bhuvan Bhatnagar, Task Manager, and comprisedof James Kearns and Debra Sequeira. Valuable inputs were made by Sandy Granzow, Sue Jacobs, Gillian Perkins and Jennifer Rietbergen-McCrackcn.Cristy Tumale, Isabel Alegre and Nona Sachdevaprovided secretarial support. The work was carried out under the general direction of Gloria Davis. Many other people inside the World Bank provided valuable contributions, advice and comments. All told, over 200 Bank staff and consultants contributeddirectly to the contents of the Sourcebook. As a result, the process of preparingthe Sourcebook has led to sharing, learning and ownershipon the part of the participating Bank staff, and not just a written document to be distributed to them. The Sourcebook builds on the work of a Bankwide Learning Group on Participatory Development which was led over the last four years by David Beckmannand Aubrey Williams and which drew on the contributionsof countless Bank staff. Case studies documentingthe Bank's experience with participation were contributed by Michael Azefor, Neil Boyle, Ann Clark, Willy de Geyndt, Jacomina de Regt, Sunita Gandhi, Scott Guggenheim, Charles Gunasekara, Abel Mejia. Makha Ndao, Maria Nowak, Yogendra Saran, Turid Sato, Katrine Saito, Bachir Souhlal, Denise Vaillancourt and Thomas Wiens. Twenty steeing committes comprised mainlyof Bank staff prepared backgroundTechnical Papers for the Sourcebook. Primary contributors included Charles Antholt, Dan Aronson, Michael Bamberger, Ajit Baneriqe, Anthony Bebbington, Lynn Bennett, Mark Blackden, Gabriel Campbell, Tim Campbell, Thomas Carroll, Nat Colletta, Chona Cniz, Shelton Davis, Jim Edgerton, lohn Frankenhoff, Michael Goldberg, Gita Gopal, David Gow, Hans Jurgen Gruss, Malcom Holmes, N. Vijay Jagannathan, James Kearns, AnixudhKrLishna,Andrew Manzardo, Alexandre Marc, Ruth Meinzen-Dick, Augusta Molnar, Deepa Narayan, Andrew Norton, Gillian Perkins, Richard Reidinger, Mary Schmidt, Jerry Silverman, Lars Soefiestad, Tova Solo, Thomas Stephens, Abeba Taddese, Ellen Tynan, Gabrielle Watson, and Willem Zijp. These background papers will be publishedas EnvironmentDepartment Papers and some have been smarized in Annex IL The Sourcebookwas prepared with support from two of the World Bank's Central Vice PresidenciesEnvironmentallySustaiable Development(ESD) and Human Resources Development and Operations Policy (HRO) - and with resources from the German Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GMZ) and the SwedishInternationalDevelopmentAuthority (SIDA). Thomas Kuby, GTZ, also provided substantive support. In addition to the direct contributions to its contents, the Sourcebook has benefitted from the comments and feedback of nearly 1,000 reviewers inside and outside the Bank. We have taken many of these views and insights into account in revising the Sourcebook. But given the sheer number of responses, it was impossible to incorporate all of them. Formunately,we don't see this as the final word. Instead, we envision the Sourcebook as a 'living" docment which will be updated and revised regularly to reflect our rapidly growing experience in this area. In future editions, we also hope to incorporate contributions from outside the Bank from donors, from NGOs, from our govenment counterparts and other participation practitioners, all of whom have valuableexperiencesof their own from which we can leam. TALE OF CONTENS Ackuowkdgments Introduction 1 Chapter I: Reflections: What Is Partdpatlon? 3 What is Participation 3 Participatoy Stance 3 External Expert Stance 4 Listening and Consultation 4 Expert Leaning 4 Soci Leamn g and Invention 5 Commitment 5 Popular vs. Stakeholder Participation Reaching the Poor 6 Chapter ILI Sharing Experiences 8 Guide to Sourcebook Eramples I1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. II. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 6 10 Albania: Rural Poverty Alleviation Pilot Project 13 Be3n: Health Project 18 Bazil: Municipalitiesand Low Income Sanitation 24 Chad: Education V 29 Colmbia: Electricity Sector Reform 33 Egypt: Matruh Resouce ManagementProjcct 40 India: Andhra Pradesh Forestry Poject 45 Lao PDR: Health System Reform and Malaria Control 53 Medco: Hydroelectric Project 59 Morocco: Women intDevelopmentSector Strtegy 67 75 Mozambique: Country ImplementationReview Nigeria: Women in Agricuhure 81 Pakistan: Sindh Special Devdopment Project 87 95 PhiIppines: Integrated Protected Areas Project Philippines: Communal Irrigation Projects 101 Yemen: Education Sector Credit 109 Chapter mI: Practice Pointers: Particpatory Planing and Decisionmaklng A. Getting Started 113 * When to Start 113 * Getting Government Support B. Identifying Stakeholders 116 * Who is a Stakeholder? 117 * Identifying Stakeholders 118 114 113 C. InvolvingStakeholders 120 * BuildingTrust 120 * InvolvingDirectlyAffectedStakeholders 121 * SeekingFeedback 122 * Involvingthe Voiceless 123 * Involvingthe Opposition 125 D. ParticipatoryPlanningand Decisionmaking 126 * What DoParticipatoryTechniquesAchieve? 126 * Creatinga LearningMood 127 * WhatDoesthe LearningMoodProduce? 128 * StrategicPlanning 128 * TacticalPlanning 129 E. TaskManagerRoles 130 * Initiating 131 * Facilitating 131 * Participating 131 * SharingExpertise 132 Observing 132 * Navigating 133 - Nurturing 134 ChapterIV: Pactice Poiuter: Enabling the Poor to Participate A. Leaning From the Poor 135 135 * Learning What Poverty Means to the Poor 136 i ProvidingIncentivesfor the Poor to Participate 138 B. FacilitatingWomen'sParticipation 139 3 Barriersto Women'sParticipation 139 * SeekingWomen'sViews 140 * Workingwith Women'sGroups 141 C. BuildingCommunityCapacity 142 * UnderstandingCommunityOrganizations 142 * Buildingthe Capacityof Conumunity Organizations D. IntermediaryNGOs 147 * NGOsas Intermediaries 147 * IntermediaryRoles 147 * Undestanding the NGO Sector 148 * IdentifyingAppropriateNGOs 150 * Bridgingthe Gap 153 * StrengtheningNGOCapacity 154 E. FinancialIntermediation 155 * FiscalDecentralization 155 * SocialFunds 156 * SustainableFinancialSystems 158 * Group-BasedApproaches 160 ii 144 * BuildingCapacityof Groups 162 F. Crafting ResponsiveInstitutions 162 * Charcteristicsof ResponsiveInstitutions 162 * Strengtheningthe Capacityof GovernmentImsitutions 164 G. The EnablingEnvironment:LegalIssues 165 * Rightto Information 166 * Rightto Organize 167 * Impactof Borrower'sFinancialand Other Regulations 169 Annex1: Methods and Tools 173 Introduction 173 Guideto Methods 175 * Appreciation-Influence-Control175 * Objectives-Oriented ProjectPlaning 179 ' PC/TeamUP 181 3 ParticipatoryRural Appraisal 183 * SARAR 185 * BeneficiaryAssessment 187 3 SystematicClientConsultation 189 * SocialAssessnCt 191 3 GenderAnalysis 193 i Glossaryof Tools 195 Annex H: Working Paper Summaries * * * * * * * * * * * * 199 Participationin CountryEconomicand SectorWork 200 Participationin PovertyAssessments 204 Participationin Agicultual Extension 208 Participationin Forestand ConservationManagement 212 Prtcipation in the IrrigationSector 216 Participationin the Waterand Santation Sector 220 Participationin e Education2nd TidiningSector 224 Participationin SocialFunds 228 GenderIssuesin Participation 232 Participationand IntermediaryNGOs 236 DesigningCommunityBasedDevelopment 240 Participationand IndigenousPeople 244 Hii INTRODUCTION "It isnotthatweshouldsimplyseeknewandbeuerwaysfor managing society,the economyand the world. Thepoint is that we should jfudamentalychangehowwebehave. Vadav EBvvd Using the Soumebook thrugh theworkof thefour-yearBankwideLeamning G;roupon ParticipatoryDevelopment.In making selections, we attempted to cover a variety of Sourcebookfor WehavewrittentheParticipation World Bank Task Managers - and those who work countries, sectors and types of activities. We with them - to help them support participatory processesin econmic and socialdevelopment. recognizehowever,thatwehavenot evencomedose to capturingthevast, rich, and variedexperiencesin participatorydevelopment,evenwithimthe Bank. The Sourcebook is not for cover-to-cover reading.bItead, it hasbeen formattedso thata busy personcan pull it off the shelf, consultthe Table of Contents,and quicklyturn to the sectiontheyneed. To facilitatethis, the chaptersof theSourcebookare set up m modular form, with referece cdings which sbould allow the reader to dip in and out accordingto idividual interest and need. Readers may also wish to supplementthe contentsof the Sourcebook with more detailed informationon methodsand tools (AnnexI), or with information from the backgroundpapersummaries(AnnexII). What's in the Sourcebook? Reflectionson Participation Chapter I brings together the key themes and conmnonelementson participation.It containsour reflectionson whatwe hase learnedfrom the stories in Chapter I. In this openingchapter, we explore whatparticipatorydevelopmentis, andwhatit means to use participatoryprocessesto planand implement Bank operations.We also discussthe importanceof using participatoryapproachesin reachingthepoor. This is not an executivesummary,but an invitation to explorethe caseswhichfollow. SharedExperiencs In compiiing these case studies, it became evident that each example is context specaiic. Theefore, applyingwhat you find useful in these examplesto other situationswill no doubt require some interpretaion and adaptation.You may also wish to brows throughseveralof these experiences are doing, beforesettling to see whatyourcoUeagues on a final approach. fts Pbints Chapter m draws largey upon Chapter II expeiences to guidethe reader through the various steps of participatoryplanningand decisinkng. Thesepracticepointersprovideanswersto questions Task Mmagersmav have about using participatory aproaches in Bank-supportedactivities.Given the context specific and multi-dimensionalnature cf thepracticepointers participation,wehave developed in a waythat gives the readera menuof optionsfor each stage of the participatoryprocess based on actu Bankexpenences.This leaVesreadersfree to decide for themselveswhich examples are most relevantto their own situationand adapt the ideas accordingly. 'MThe practicepointersin ChapterIV focuson one told in the first Chapter II containsexamnples, person, of how World Bank staff used, or helped oths use, participaory approaches in Bample supportedopeations. We identifie theseexamples Page 1 paricular group of stakeholders - the poor - and some of the commonbarriers to their participation. ChapterIV presentsthe experienceof Bankstaff and counterparts,and sharesapproaches theirgovemnment to stregthning the financial and organizational ParticIpatbnSourcebook capacities of the poor. It also discusses ways of creating an enablingenvironment for the participation of all stakeholders, including the poor. Particpatory Techniques We have includedan annex describinga range of participatory methods, some of which have been used in the Chapter nl examples. We have borrowed techniques firely from those who 'invented' them, and have modifiedthem, when necessary, to fit into the context of Bank operations. Page 2 Technical Paper Summaries Steering oDmniiteecscomprised mostly of Bank operational staff prepared background papers on participation for the Sourcebook. The eighteen papers fall into three categories: (i) Bank supported activities and operational tasks, (ii) sectors; and (iii) crosscutting issues. Annex II contains summaries of these papers and their main findings for readers who may want to explore a specific area or issue in greater depth. Participation anidIndigenous People The characteristics of indigenous groups make partidpatorysapproaches especially critical to safeguarding their interests in the development process. Such approaches, recognizing the right of indigenous peoples to participate actively in planning their own futures, are supported by major donors and international organizations, including the World Bank, but have proved very difficult to implemnent.They call for changes in attitudes, policies and legislation to address the key issues: recognizing rights to land and natural resources; ensuring culturally appropriate procedures for consultation and communication; and building on the strengths of traditional lifestyles and inslitunions. Why Support Participation? Indigenous or tribal people, numbering at least 250 million throughout 70 different countries, have often been on the losing end of the development process. In many cases, their resources have been exploited for the benefit of other groups in society and, in many countries, they are the poorest of the poor. Often they experience political and economic discrimination and are perceived as backward or primitive. Even when development policies and programs have been designed specifically to improve the welfare of indigenous peoples, the approach has usually been paternalistic, seeking their cultural assimilationand ignoring the strengthsof indigenous institutions and knowledge (including environmental knowledge). This, in turn, can contribute to worsening poverty, social marginalizationand ethnic resistance. The characteristics which distinguish indigenous peoples include their strong attachment to the land, their dependence on renewable natural resources, subsistencepractices, distinct languagesand cultures, their historical identities as distinct peoples, and often mistrust of outsiders. For development institutions and planners, the challenge is how to incorporate such diversity of culture, language, ecological adaptation and history into development planning. Cultural barriers make it especially difficult for the oultsider to comr uniate with indigenous groups, understand their institutions, or disceg their needs In these circumstances, the participation of indigenous people in planning and managing their own development is a means of safeguarding their interests in the developmentprocess. The past decade has seen growing recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples, supported by ;. ternational legal instruments, to decide their own priorities for the development or use of their lands and other resources, and to exercise control over their own economic, social and cultural development. At the same time, from a practical point of view, a participatory approach to indigenous development is a means of improving the quality of projects. In cormunities whose institutions, leadership patterns and lifestyles are not well understood by outsiders, participation can ensure that projects and services are relevant to perceived needs, and that they are sustainable through indigenous institutions. To be effective, programs must be undertakenin partnership with indigenouspeoples, rather than planned for them or carried out among them. Key Elements in a Participatory Approach Although the need for a participatory approach is now widely accepted by inernational development agenciesit is difficult to implement. Obstacles include existing national policy and legislative frameworks, widespread prejudices, a tendency on the part of outside NGOs to control rather than facilitate, and a lack of developmentplanning and management skills on the part of indigenouspeoples themselves. In Bank operations, the challenge is typicatly confronted in two contexts. The first is in mandatory Envirotnental Assessments or IndiEenous Peoples DevelopmentPlans, intendedto identify and mitigate potentiallyadverse effects of Bank supported projects on the livelihoods of indigenouspeoples. The second is in a new generation of Bank-fundedprojects where indigenous peoples are the primary beneficiaries. Thisnote is based on the paper written by Shelton H. Davis and Lars T. Soefiesiad.Resourcepeople in the Bank indude Dan Aronson. Michael diLeva, CyprianFisly,MaryLisbeh Gonzalez,ScortGuggenheim.Kristin4Ivarsdotter. Cemea, GloriaDavis, ConcEpcionDel CastiUa,Charies Alf Jerve. HemaniaMishra. Albert Ninio, Horry Patrinos, Wdliwa Partridge. Stan Peabody, EllenSchaengoldand Jorge UquiUas. Page 244 Indigenous People Critical issues for the task manager on these new projects are outlined hcrc. The Legal and Policy Framework Govemment willingness to devolvc somc degree of autonomy in decisionmaking to indigenous communities is a precondition of successfulprojects. Judgements must then be made on whether legislative or policy reforms are needed to support such participation in the decisionmakingprocess. Many of the line agencies or ministries rcsponsible for relationshipswith indigenous peoplc are weak. They lack professionally trained staff and often take a paternalistic approach. In thesc cases, reforms are needed before a participatory project can succeed. Local and regional elites may also be an impediment to authentic indigenous participation, even where an adequate legislative and policy framework exists (Box I). Colombia is one of the countries to have set an example in establishing a legal and policy framework which supports indigenous participation. Although Colombia maintains a special office within its Ministry of Govemment to deal with indigenous matters, its constitution recognizes the rights of indigenous cormmunities to control their lands and natural resources and their internal political affairs. Each recognized indigenous community has its own council, with the power to decide on the use of the comununity'sland and resources, to resolve internal disputes, and to negotiate health, education and other programs with regional developmentcorporationsand the national government. Recent Colombian legislation also provides for the direct transfer of government resources to these councils for projects which they design and execute. Rights to Land and Natural Resources Despite some recent progress, legal recognition of the customaryrights of indigenous peoples to their ancestral lands is often lacking, and many developmnentprograms have to deal with the question of indigenous land tenure security and natural resource rights. Bank legal staff, and lawyers within client countries, can help task managers through the complexities of national land, resource and environmental legislation as it relates to indigenous peoples. In the Laos Forest Managernent and Conservation Project, for example, one of the Bank's lawyers reviewed national forestry and land legislation relating to the customary rights of ethnic minorities in upland villages. This review provided the Bank with the necessary information to raise the subject with the government and to include provisions in the project for recognizing and regularizing customary land rights. The Bank has also had experience, in the Philippines and Brazil for example, in improving the institutional capacity of the government agencies responsible for the titling of indigenous lands. This experience has demonstrated the benefits to be gained from indigenous participation in physical mapping aid land demarkation. Box 1 The Politicsof IndigenousParticipation Projects which incorporateindigenousconsultationand participationneed to take into accountongoingand complex politicalsituations.Withouta good understandingof these dynamics.even the most welldesignedprojectscan lead o unforeseenturmoil and frustration. An exampleis the IndigenousPeoples Componentof the Bank-fundedEastern LowlandsNaturalResourceManagementand AgriculturalDevelopmentProjectin Bolivia. The purposeof the IndigenousPeoplesComponentis to providelandtenuresecurityand otherservicesto severalAyoreo and ChiquitanoIndiancommunitiesin the EasternLowlands.Originallypreparedin a highlyparticipatorymannerby a regional Indian federation in collaborationwith a non-IndiantechnicalassistanceNGO. the componentencountered politicalobstaclesimmediatelyfollowingprojecteffectiveness. The precipitatingevent for these problemswas a protestmarch by the Indianfederation,callingfor more indigenous control over forest resources.This soon escalatedinto a major confrontationbetweenthe federationand the regional developmentcorporation(the project implementing agency)over who shouldhave controlof the component.The Bank found itselfin the unenviablepositionof tryingto negotiatetheirdifferences.manyof whichpre-datedthe protestmarch. Unable to find a solution after long meetings. the Bank accepted the redesign of the component, which regrettably reduced the power of the indigenous federation and put more power into the hands of an implementing unit within the regional corporation. Page245 Partiipation Sourcebook 'benevolent' outsiders, be they missionaries, government officials, teachers or anthropologists. Those individuals or organizations which have been able to gain their trust have usually done so through long years of contact, learning and respecting their languages and cultures. If such individuals or organizations can be brought into the project preparation process, there is a much better chance of introducing culturally acceptable mechanisms for consultationand participation. Box 2 Comunuilty ParticipationIn Blingual Education AlthoughethnicVietnameseconstitutethe bulk of Vietnam's population, there are 53 ethnic minoritieslivingmostlyin the mountainareas. The Bank fundedPrimary EducationProjectcontainsa special Ethnic MinoritiesEducadionComponenL which will finance a comprehensivepackage of educational inputs to minority children. This package, premised on the importanceof the vernacularlanguageandof community participation, consistsof policy measures.pedagogicalactivities, provision of physical facilities and institution building. To implementthe component,existing provincial and local level committeeswill be involved in teacher training,textbookproduction and maintenanceof local schools. Similarly,in the SecondPrimaryEducationProject in Mexico, the use of bilingualschoolteachersand pedagogicalmaterialsin the vemacularlanguagesis combined with a strong elementof community participation.Such participationis linked to the country's overall povertyalleviationprograrn,and includesthe involvementof communitycommittees, municipaleducationcouncils,parents' associations and schoolcouncils. Building on Trditonal Strengths The traditional lifestyles of indigenous peoples involve subsistence strategies which use locally available natural resources to satisfy their basic needs, while maintaining a balance with their environment. There are many unfortunate examples of programs for indigenous development which have undermined these traditional subsistence strategies without providing socially and ecologically viable altematives. The most successful programs with indigenouspeoples, such as the West Bengal Forestry ManagementProgram (Box 3), are those which take Box 3 Tribal Womenanl Forestry The West Bengal Joint Forestry Management Program is considered to be a model of participatoryforest management.One of its most importantaspectsis the way in whichtribalwornen, their traditionalenvironmentalknowledgeand their livelihoodstrategieshavebeenincorporatedintothe program.In mostareas, the recognitionof the rights of tribalwomento collectand marketlea-iesof Sal andKendutrees has beenthe majorincentivewhich has led to the program's economicand institutional success. In the villageof Pukuria,womengatherthe leaves for six months of each year for the purpose of makingplates, some700,000of whichare exported monthlyby the village. Minor forest products represent the primary occupation and most importantsource of income for Pukuria's tribal women. Givensaltheforest low productivity, investment costs for re-establishing combined Culturally Appropriate Communication In designing consultation and cpn,sevrcation procedures with indigenous peoples, several special aspects need to be taken into account: their distinct languages; their traditional means of transmitting knowledge and values; and their mristrustof outsiders. The language issue is central, since few indigenous people-especially women or eldersspeak the national language fluently. Hence consultations need to be held in the vernacular language with the help of skilled interpreters. Development strategies for indigenous education Box 2) also need to take into account the traditional importance of legends, folk tales and proverbs for the oral transmission Modern transissio of of knowledge knweg.n and culture. clue oe schooling of indigenous children has proved more effective when it includes instruction in both vernacular and national languages and when it is bicultural or multicultural in content. Effective communication depends heavily on the element of trust. Through historical experience, indigenous people have learned to be cautious of withthe benefits protecting the upper ridge where forests areoflocated, this system seems totracts have considerablepotential for increasingemployment and incomeearningopportunities,while reducing soil erosionlevels. ition .. environmental knowledge and livelihood systems as the given basis upon which to build new Page 246 Indigenous People knowlcdgc, technologics and cconomic activities. Similarly, the most successful projects are building on existing institutions, instcad of creating new oncs to dcal with specific devclopmenttasks. In thc Matruh Natural Rcsource Management Project, for examnplc,among the Bcdouin of Wcstcrn Egypt, using thc bayt-thc Bcdouin local lineagc group-as thc basis for project activities has inspired the confidencc of the Bedouin population, including Bedouin womcn. As a result, it has avoided many of the pitfalls of carlier proiccts which attempted to introduce Western style cooperatives. Sociai asscssmcnts, in which comnunity members participatc as partners rather than mere informants, arc used to improve understandingof the indigenous social structure and institutionson which to base development strategies, and to assist the communitiesin determining how best to adapt their institutions to ncw purposes. Social assessment techniques can also reveal the existence of conflicts with implications for participation, for example between traditionaland modern institutionsor sources of authority. As in any other social groups, strengtheningthe capacities of indigenous peoples (Box 4) to evaluate options and implement their own development programs requires training in basic skills, and technical assistance in areas such as management, topography, forestry, agriculture, marketing and community health care. However, it also involves promoting and strengthening traditional systems, for example of natural resource management and medicine. Somcof the best experiences with capacity strengthening have come from exchanges among indigenous peoples themselves. For example,in Latin Amcrican countries, NGOs have facilitated workshops in which indigenous peoples from diffcrent tribes and linguistic groups exchange experiences about land protection, mapping and natural resource management. Direct Funding Many of the first generation Bank projects with indigenous peoples allocated funds to the national government agencies responsible for indigenous development. The typical result was expansion of the government agency concerned, with little direct benefit to the indigenouscommunities. In Brazil, for example, where the Bank promoted large investments in increasing the staff and infrastructure of the National Indian Foundation, the impact was minimal in such important areas as natural resource protection, indigenous health and conmunity economic development. In more recent projects, therefore, the goal is for funds to be controlled and managed by indigenous people themselves, preceded by the necessary capacity building. Group-based lending schemes, where groups rather than individuals are responsible for protection against default in repayments, have proved adaptable to the finance needs of poor indigenous populations, as the principle of joint liability is often an important element in traditional systems of social control. These lending schemes increase the self-confidence of their members and demonstrate the capacityof indigenouspopulations to participate in the developmentprocess. Box4 Investingin CapacityStrengthening Promotingtraining and capacity strengthening may be one of the best investmentsfor the economicdevelopmentof indigenouscommunities.The Bankes Latin Americanand Caribbean Region's EnvironmentUnit (LATEN). for example,has launcheda program to assist indigenousorganizationsin the followingactivities:defining their own development strategies and proposals; strengthening their institutionalstructures in areas such as personnel management. training programs, budgeting and finance; and improving their negotiating skills to finance their own development proposals. The program is financed through grants to government agencies and/or indigenous organizations from the Bank's Institutional DevelopmentFund. Thus far, programs have been designed or are under preparation in 10 countries. Each training program contains a consulting seminar, a series of workshops, a monitoring and evaluation system, and an evaluation seminar. Many of the seminars take place in the regions where indigenouspeople live. and all of them focus on indigenousvalues. cultures and philosophies, as well as modem managementand developmentplanning skills. Page 247