Only "discovered" in 1982, the Awá people live in 18 communities scattered throughout a vast area of virtually undisturbed tropical forest straddling the border between Ecuador and Colombia. Although outsiders have made numerous attempts to exploit their territory, the 3,000 Awá have resisted, thanks to a partnership between local and international groups and the support of the Ecuadorian government. How they succeeded was the subject of a recent seminar at the IDB presented by three representatives of this partnership: Julián Cantincuz Nastacuaz and Arturo Cantincuz Nastacuaz, of the Awá community, and James Levy, binational coordinator from the World Wildlife Fund.

Work to organize the Awá communities and demarcate their land began in 1983, right after initial outside contact was made. The first step was to establish the Federation of Awá Communities, a political body that could speak for all of the communities. With the help of Indian rights organizations and the World Wildlife Fund, the federation began a lengthy series of talks with the Ecuadorian government to gain title to their land. Their efforts succeeded in 1995.

Meanwhile, the federation worked to protect the Awá territory, often in the face of very real threats from lumber and mining companies and non-Indian colonists. Its principal weapon has been a set of regulations for natural resources management, which are decided on by consensus.

As troubles with outsiders lessened, the Awá turned their attention to such areas as education. Today, Awá bilingual teachers are working in each community, a vast improvement over just a decade ago when only three communities had schools and all teachers were outsiders.

The Awá also established a system of participatory planning workshops to identify needs and make decisions on long-term conservation and resource management. One result was the designation of some 17,000 hectares as a wildlife refuge.

Health also emerged as a major priority. In former years, vaccination campaigns and emergency interventions constituted the Awá's sole western-based health services. Today, Awá health promoters manage two small community pharmacies and the long-term goal is to combine western and Awá medicinal knowledge.

Another priority is transportation. The territory has no roads, only trails. Getting services and buying supplies often requires a hike of two to four days, and the area's numerous rivers, often swelled by an average rainfall of 10,000 millimeters, can cut off communications entirely. Donations of steel cable have enabled a few communities to construct foot bridges, but the problem remains largely unresolved.

Finally, the federation is looking into production systems that would be compatible with the Awá's natural resource conservation goals, including agriculture, selective logging, hunting and fishing, gold panning, and crafts.

IDB and indigenous peoples