Strengthening the Capacity of Indigenous Organizations in the Amazon 2023 Q2 Quarterly Report

The project aims to enable IPOs to directly access international funding to advocate for indigenous peoples' governance of the Amazon, particularly in relation to significant infrastructure and extractive activities. The project also seeks to ensure that indigenous peoples' rights to free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) are respected, and to mitigate the negative environmental, social, and economic impacts of these development projects. The project is implemented by Pact, Inc. and has four Key Results areas: Activity design adapted by incorporating Applied Political Economy Analysis (APEA) results, social inclusion strategy, and indigenous organizations' input; IPOs' capacity gaps addressed and strengths cultivated; IPOs demonstrate improved financial and organizational performance; and at least one key tool or resource identified and developed to be shared with other IPOs facing infrastructure and extractives development on their lands. During the reporting period covering January 2023 through March 2023, the SCIOA team and the Capacity Development Organizations (CDO) continued implementing field activities with selected IPOs. Some IPOs, such as Colombia and Brazil, completed their technical implementation while IPOs Peru, Suriname, and Ecuador began their final stage of small grant implementation. The Amerindian Peoples Association (APA), the CDO in Guyana, guided the Moruca District Council (MDC) during an internal workshop to review its Institutional Strengthening Plans (ISP) and prioritize new activities to be funded by SCIOA. The CDOs made significant progress in providing technical assistance and mentorship to IPOs, helping them develop meeting protocols, creating a format for the annual operating plan, and preparing budgets, expense reports, and quotations requests. SCIOA launched several pieces of content for dissemination on social media, including a podcast and a webinar, and held a new version of the webinar "La Amazonía Propone" during this quarter. The activity resulted in a modification of the approved MEL plan for some targets that had already surpassed their goals. The political context in the region remains dynamic, with some actions that could threaten indigenous rights. The SCIOA team continues to monitor and coordinate with the CDOs to identify situations that could directly impact IPOs under SCIOA. The team is also preparing for the closeout of SCIOA and has hired a consultant to help analyze information from the outcome harvesting and learning agenda, which will be presented in the final report. Key Result 1: Activity design adapted by incorporating Applied Political Economy Analysis (APEA) results, social inclusion strategy, and indigenous organizations' input. During this quarter, as part of the Social Inclusion (SI) strategy, 46% of the total participants were women, with 33 out of 71 individuals trained or supported by CDOs in Ecuador, Peru, Guyana, and Suriname being women. Additionally, 35% of the participants were young, with 25 individuals falling into this category. The participation of indigenous women and youth in events, meetings, and workshops promoted by SCIOA is significant since it is uncommon for them to participate in such activities in Amazonian communities. In Ecuador, the Organizational Management Workshops provided participants from three IPOs with an opportunity to learn and apply project management concepts, methodologies for project and budget monitoring, and dimensions of organizational management systems such as human resources, productivity, and relationships with stakeholders and institutions. In Peru, the Training Workshop on Geo-Referencing, Titling, and Land Property Rights for Indigenous Communities had fifteen participants, including two women from the Federación de Comunidades Nativas Fronterizas del Putumayo (FECONAFROPU). The workshop aimed to provide participants with further education on the use of Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to geo-reference their lands, which would help defend against illegal activities. In Suriname, VIDS provided training on GPS usage to one local youth from the Pele Tepu (TEPU) organization. During Q2, the youth was then responsible for training five youths from the same organization. This training made the team part of the group accountable for demarcating Tepu's territory, which would help safeguard their rights and legal autonomy as a village. In Guyana, project management training was provided to the women and youth of MDC, focusing on defining the roles and responsibilities of council members as well as grant design. The objective of the training was to improve financial management, accounting, and project management skills among the council members, and to ensure good record keeping practices are put in place.