Institutional evaluation of Federation for Indigenous Peoples’ Self-Determination (FAPI)

Background:
FAPI was formed in 2001 as a result of a mass mobilization against an attempt to weaken the indigenous rights in the national legislation. The overall goal of FAPI is the recognition of Indigenous Peoples rights in Paraguay. It is essential for FAPI to strengthen the indigenous people’s organizations, to generate re-identification processes as people, and to influence decision-makers nationally and internationally. The Rainforest Foundation Norway has contributed with an institutional support to FAPI since 2007. Currently FAPI has twelve member organizations, six organizations in the eastern part of the country and six in west, and is the most representative indigenous confederation in Paraguay.

Purpose/objective:
• To analyze FAPI’s  organizational structure in order to optimize their internal operations and their ability to empower indigenous organizational processes and advocacy work.
• To strengthen the existing coordination in the federation, and to search for a more effective impact to local and central authorities.
• To present and discuss suggestions of organizational structures and procedures that can strengthen FAPI institutionally.

Methodology:
Data was collected using a combination of tools including documentary review, field visits in different parts of Paraguay and interviews with different stakeholders (FAPIs member organizations, FAPI's board and leadership, government representatives, members of national and international NGOs etc.). It has been important for the evaluators that the process should be inclusive, and that the results should be shared and discussed with both FAPI’s leadership and member organizations.

Key findings:
- FAPI is a representative indigenous organization and enjoys much prestige and recognition among authorities, cooperation agencies and indigenous organizations. However, the federation is relatively unknown in the Paraguayan population, and don’t have a close relationship with the Paraguayan civil society.
- FAPI’s own member-organizations value positively the federation’s definition of the overall objectives, the organization’s structure and the process of decision-making.
- FAPI achieves most of its objectives set by the Assembly. FAPI-activities are classified as valuable and beneficial for the community representatives.
- FAPI plays an important role as a door-opener between Indigenous organizations and authorities. FAPI works closely with the country's environmental authorities (SEAM), the forest and land authorities (INFONA) and the directorate for indigenous Affairs (INDI).
- FAPI has a major structural challenge: a too small administration in comparison to the overwhelming numbers of requests and demands from their member organizations.
- There is a particularly strong need for strengthening the legal team and to increase the mobility of FAPI’s leaders to improve contact with the grassroots.
- FAPI has a weak economic sustainability, and depends too much on the support from RFN/NORAD.
- A great challenge for the strengthening of FAPI’s member organizations is the weakening of values, spirituality and traditions among young people in the communities.

Recommendations:
- FAPI must expand and strengthen its administrative capacity, particularly the legal team.

- FAPI should develop a better communication strategy, such as a more updated website, to achieve a closer cooperation with the Paraguayan civil society (human rights, NGOs, universities). Indigenous requirements and advocacy could have a greater impact thru collaboration with the Paraguayan civil society. 

- FAPI should include in their working-plans strengthening components of indigenous cultures, respect for rituals, and awareness of indigenous knowledge in the attempt to strengthen indigenous identity. 

- FAPI should develop an early-warning-system of threats and risks from the soybean-industry, legal and illegal deforestation, discrimination, attempts of land grabbing, drug trafficking and other threats.

- FAPI should form a technical team of indigenous and professional leaders to create an advanced database that will be appropriate for policy work/advocacy and for indigenous territorial management. The databases should cover topics such as geography and ethnicity, threats, maps of territories and claimed land, natural resources etc.

- FAPI must prioritize fundraising to improve the financial sustainability of the organization. A part of this work should be to develop a communication strategy.

- FAPI should continue to coordinate the efforts to protect isolated Indians in the Chaco region, and to support the Ayoreo Indians' bi-national cooperation with Bolivia for forest protection and territorial planning.

- FAPI should continue to maintain a balanced relationship with the authorities. Not too close so that indigenous organizations lose their identity and are co-opted by the state, nor so distant that indigenous organizations don’t achieve a good communication and a negotiating position. An equidistant position to the government is best, which involves maintaining three basic principles: organizational independence, ideological independence and economic independence.

Comments from the organisation, if any:
- FAPI consider that the evaluation was important, and do agree with the recommendations. However, FAPI do not agree with the proposal to form a technical team to create an advanced database that will be appropriate for policy work/advocacy and for indigenous territorial management. FAPI fears that the confederation can be ngo-ified, and could lose contact with the grassroots with such a technical profile. FAPI does not dismiss this advice, but they don’t think this can have priority now (this might be a topic for the future).

- When it comes to contact with the civil society - FAPI will begin cooperation with the landless peasant movement in the country, to unite strengths for the land rights.