World Bank Document

IPP264 Paraguay Community Development Project Indigenous Peoples Development Framework Introduction Public Disclosure Authorized 1. Indigenous Peoples (IP) in Paraguay represent only 1.7% of the total population (about 87,100) people, according to the most recent Indigenous Peoples Census (2002). Notwithstanding, IP, show a higher population growth rate (3.9%) than the average for the national population (2.7%). Therefore, it is possible to expect that the proportion of IP will continue to grow for some time, even though they will continue to be a small proportion of the total population. 2. There are 19 different ethnic groups1 belonging to five linguistic families2, being the most numerous those belonging to the Guarari linguistic family3 (46,000 or 53%), followed by the Maskoy linguistic family groups4 (21,000 or 24%). The four largest IP groups are the Ava-Guarani (13,400 or 15.5%), Mbyá (14,300 or 16.7%), Pâí Tavyterâ (13,100 or 15.2%), and the Nivacle (12,000 or 13.9%). Most indigenous peoples speak Public Disclosure Authorized their own language and have a limited command of Spanish. Table 1: Distribution of Indigenous Population by Department Department Indigenous Population Absolute % of total 90 0.1 Asunción Concepción 2,670 3.09 San Pedro 2,736 3.16 Cordillera Guairá 1,056 1.22 Caaguazú 6,884 7.95 Caazapá 2,528 2.92 Public Disclosure Authorized Itapúa 2,102 2.43 Misiones Paraguarí Alto Paraná 4,697 5.43 Central 1,038 1.20 Ñeembucú Amambay 10,519 12.16 Canindeyú 9,529 11.01 Pte. Hayes 19,751 22.82 Boquerón 19,754 22.83 Alto Paraguay 3,186 3.68 1 According to the II Indigenous Census, there are 19 ethnic groups: Guaraní Occidental, Aché, Ava- Guaraní, Mbya, Pai-Tavytera, Ñandeva, Maskoy, Enlhet norte, Enxet sur, Sanapaná, Toba, Angaité, Guaná, Nivaclé, Maká, Manjui, Ayoreo, Chamacoco(Yvytoso & Tomaraho), Toba-Qom. Public Disclosure Authorized 2 Guaraní, Maskoy, Matako, Guaicurú, and Zamuco 3 Guarani-occidental, Guarani-Ñandeva, Ava-guarani, Aché, Mbya, Pai Tavyterá 4 Enlhet norte, Enxet sur, Sanapaná, Toba, Toba-Maskoy, Angaité, Guaná, 2 Nación 86,540 100 Source: II Censo Indígena de Población y Viviendas DGEEC 3. The great majority of the IP (91.5%) are in rural areas, distributed almost evenly between the Chaco region (49.3%) and the Oriental region (50.7%). The current distribution represents a significant change from the situation in the early 1980s when about 67% of the indigenous peoples were in the Chaco region. This change reflects population movements in search of more resources in the Oriental region as well as a better counting of indigenous peoples in areas previously not included in the census in the Oriental region. 4. Indigenous Peoples in Paraguay are the most excluded social group, experiencing extreme poverty and serious social problems. IP have little access to health services. Only 26% of communities have access to a health post or center. Child mortality totals 93.9 per thousand. Fertility rates among IP women is extremely high, reaching 6.3, compared with 3.9 for the average fertility rate and 5.1 for rural women. While there are differences between the fertility rates of various ethnic groups, most of them are above the national average. The five largest groups present fertility rates ranging from 5.5 in the case of the Nivacle to 8.4 among the Aché women. Only the Tobas and the Enlhet Norte have lower fertility rates than the national average. 5. Illiteracy among IP (15 years and older) is 51%, compared with 7.1% for the total population. The average years of schooling for IP 10 years and older are 2.2 years, while the national average is 7 years. 6. Poverty among IP is extremely high. While there are no nation-wide representative household survey data regarding poverty among indigenous peoples, existing data from various projects (PRODECO, PARN, JSDF, and other donors, as well as local NGOs working with IP in Paraguay), suggest that the poverty rate among IP would be above 95%. It is important to note that IP’s survival strategies include a combination of economic activities (subsistence farming, hunting, fishing, gathering, occasional paid labor, and handicrafts). However, the precarious state of these different activities results in persistent poverty and extreme vulnerability to shocks. 7. The extreme poverty of IP is exacerbated by the lack of land and land titles. According to the IP census, there are 412 IP communities, of which 185 do not have legal tenure of / access to land. Considering that most indigenous peoples base their livelihood strategies on access to land, it is not surprising that most IP are poor. Furthermore, the lands currently occupied by these communities are many times encroach by non- indigenous occupants and the resource base has been severely eroded given aggressive extractive practices and poor natural resources management practices, thus IP cannot survive only based on their lands, as they no longer provide an appropriate natural resource base to sustain the communities’ economic-productive survival. 8. Lands occupied by IP could be under four different situations: (i) indigenous lands demarcated; indigenous lands demarcated and titled; (iii) private lands claimed by indigenous groups and (iv) indigenous lands (demarcated or titled) encroached by non- 3 indigenous settlers. Regularization and titling of IP lands has made slow progress. Similarly, land acquisitions (through IBR) have benefited only a few communities. Estimates by the II Indigenous Census and INDI suggest that about 23% of the indigenous families currently do not have land and 22% has access to land without proper titling. Table 2: Indigenous Communities by Land Titling Situation (%) Indigenous Communities with Land 55.0% Indigenous Communities without Land 45.0% • Fiscal Lands (INDI/IBR/Other) 20.1% • NGO/Foundation 0.7% • Private Owner 14% • Church 3.1% • Other 6.1% Source: Based on the II Censo Indígena de Población y Viviendas DGEEC 9. The social organization of the IP communities is based on kinship and co- residence. While Caciques have great deal of authority and decision making power, indigenous groups do not necessarily take those decisions as binding. This has important consequences for the establishment of contractual relationships among members of a community and conflict resolution since, if there is no strong agreement, the dissenting part will walk away from community commitments. 10. At the national level there are various indigenous organizations that claim either regional and/or national representativeness. These organizations do not have independent funding and have to rely on INDI, church organizations or other civil society groups, for support. This situation has generated generates clientelism. In some cases, organizations supporting indigenous groups have sought from the communities exclusive legal powers to represent the community. This pattern of relationships has generated conflict among the various organizations and make more difficult for them to coordinate activities across different IP organizations. Legal Framework for Indigenous Peoples in Paraguay 11. Chapter V of the Paraguayan National Constitution (1992) consecrates indigenous peoples’ rights and guarantees. In 1993, Paraguay adhered to the International Labour Organization’s Convention 169, recognizing the right of indigenous peoples to their traditional lands and to the development of their own cultures and forms of organization. 12. The articles under Chapter V (62 to 67) of the Constitution recognizes and guarantees Indigenous peoples rights to preserve and develop their ethnic identity, have their own social, cultural, religious and political organizations, own land in sufficient quantity and quality for the conservation and development of their unique ways of life. The constitution also guarantees the right of indigenous peoples to participate in the political, social, economic and cultural live of the country. 4 13. Prior laws (904/81; 43/89), regulate land tenure to indigenous communities; Article 14 specifies that the settlement must be on land traditionally occupied by indigenous peoples; Article 20 specifies that the land title shall be communal; and Article 18 stipulates a minimum of 20 hectares per family in the Eastern Region and a minimum of 100 hectares per family in the Western Region. Law 904/81 establishes the mechanisms for titling lands in the name of indigenous communities and creates the Paraguayan Institute for Indigenous Peoples (INDI) as the institution in charge of ensuring compliance. Although years have passed since this law was enacted, INDI and INDERT still hold in their name a good number of property titles that have not yet been transferred to the communities, even though the Law obliges them to do so once the communities have been legally recognized. Indigenous Peoples in the Project Area 14. Out of the eight departments included in the Additional Financing, only Caaguazú (Aché, Ava Guaraní, Mbya, and Paí Tavyterâ), Central (Maká, Aché, Ava Guaraní, Mbya, Nivaclé, Chamacoco, Ybytoso), Guairá (Mbya), e Itapúa (Mbya and Maká) have indigenous communities. While all these communities speak their own language, they also also speak Paraguayan Guaraní. Table 3: Indigenous Peoples and Communities in the Selected Departments (and priority Districts) Department Indigenous Population Communities Caaguazú 6,884 (5,330) 47 (33) Central 1,038 (99) 3 (2) Guairá 1,056 (1,056) 8 (8) Itapúa 2,102 (1,429) 32 (25) 15. While most of these groups were nomadic hunters and gatherers they have been forced to settle in reservation-style communities where they combine multiple economic activities, including farming, hunting, gathering. The groups from the Chaco who migrated to the Eastern Region, especially the Maka have adapted to (peri)urban life5. Project Activities 16. As under the Original Project, the Additional Financing will support the following three components: 5 For further detailed analysis see the Project Appraisal Document for the Paraguay “Sustainable Agriculture And Rural Development Project” (World Bank 2007) 5 (a) Community Development Sub-Projects.

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