| Sustainable management and productive alternatives |
A meeting “Sustainable management of biodiversity and economic perspectives for the department of Vichada” was held during 9-11 March 2003, in Puerto Carreño. The event, organised by Etnollano-CANOA, surpassed all expectations and included a wide range of presentations on activities and projects being carried out in the region and elsewhere. Participants included: the indigenous organisation OIBI (Organização Indígena da Bacia do Içana) from Brazil; Etnollano, Gaia Amazonas, UAESPNN (National Parks Division, Ministry for the Environment), Alexander von Humboldt Institute, the Mayor’s Office of Puerto Carreño, and the indigenous organisations of OPIAC and ACATISEMA from Colombia; also ORPIA, PROVITA and CEPAI (Centro de Educación y la Promoción de la Autogestión Indígena) from Venezuela.
Other countries were also invited to participate, such as: the Co-Director Araucria-Coiba programme, and indigenous representatives of the Kuna indigenous congress and the Mola cooperative (Panama); representatives from the Dutch Embassy in Colombia, the Guyana Shield Initiative (Holland), the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (Spain), and representatives from INBIO and COOPRENA (Costa Rica).
Etnollano is coordinating the project Strengthening of educational processes in the frontier region of Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil. The Project involves six ethnic groups and seeks initially to establish a baseline of the educational system from different aspects: legal, institutional and pedagogical-curricular. Through a methodology of periodic meetings and exchange of experiences, information is compiled and the project aims to develop participatory models that contribute towards own education for strengthening language and thought. A “First International Meeting of Indigenous Teachers” was held in Caño Grulla, Venezuela, in May 2003.
After a meeting in June 2002, organised by ISA in Sao Paulo, work has advanced in the Amazon Network of Geo-referenced Socio-environmental Information. At ISA, information has been integrated on protected areas, deforestation, infrastructure and mining, among other issues (with the exception of data from Venezuela, Surinam and Guyana). This information is now available by internet for members of the network. www.socioambiental.org
