AID cooperative agreement no. 596-0150-A-00-1240-00 to Cultural Survival, Inc. to support institutional strengthening and natural resource management among jungle dwelling indigenous groups of Central America

(CS) to help jungle-dwelling indigenous groups in lowland Central America to develop the capacity to manage their own natural resource base. By the end of 1991, CS will have completed reports on the situation of indigenous peoples in Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, and Nicaragua. CS will then publish an assessment of the needs of these groups and policy recommendations directed to governments, NGO"s, international lending institutions, development agencies, indigenous leaders, and the general public. Results of the reports will also be disseminated through videos, newspaper and magazine articles, and formal presentations in both Central America and the United States. CS will expand its small grants fund for development and conservation activities to $500,000. Grants, ranging from $5,000-$25,000, will support such activities as demarcation of Panama"s Embera territory by Kuna topographers, survey and legalization of the San Blas Kuna reserve, a study of the steps required to legalize the Bayano Kuna Reservation, communal land titling in Honduras, and organizational training among the Bribri and Cabecar in Costa Rica. CS will assist indigenous groups in diagnosing their needs, establishing contacts with national and international specialists, initiating pilot projects, and documenting progress. CS will also ensure that TA is appropriately focused and specifically tailored to the needs and opportunities of the indigenous peoples. CS will coordinate regional workshops, technical exchanges, and conferences to facilitate linkages between the Kuna of Panama, Miskito of Nicaragua, and MOPAWI of Honduras. Activities will be organized and run by the indigenous groups with back-up support from CS.