By Amanda Roberson
Tico Times Staff | aroberson@ticotimes.net

More than 60 indigenous people came to the San José canton of Goicoechea this week, some making a long trek from their distant territories, to attend the first National Encounter of Indigenous Development Associations, sponsored by the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the National Community Development Office (DINADECO).

During the two-day encounter, which ended yesterday, these representatives had a chance to discuss challenges facing Costa Rica's indigenous communities.

“It's important that the 24 indigenous territories unify,” to fight for more government resources, better education, land ownership and a voice in the country's environmental policies, said Jefrey Lacayo, 23, coordinator of the National Network of Indigenous Youth. He came from the north-central Maleku community of Guatuso.

Lacayo's group is trying to encourage the Costa Rican government to consult the indigenous more, particularly in matters concerning the environment.

The “Peace with Nature” initiative announced last month by President Oscar Arias unfortunately excluded the indigenous, he said.

“We know about the environment; we come from nature,” Lacayo said, adding that his group met yesterday with Environment Minister Roberto Dobles, who told him he would consider the young people's position and meet with them again in two weeks.

Another objective of this week's encounter was to encourage indigenous communities to form “guardianship committees” with three to five members who work to identify specific needs of their communities that could be aided through UNICEF and DINADECO programs, said UNICEF communications assistant Michael Martin.

Given the turnout at the event (representatives from 20 of the 24 communities attended), there seems to be a lot of interest in this initiative, he said.

According to the State of the Rights of Children and Adolescents in Costa Rica, nine of 10 inhabitants of the country's indigenous territories live in poverty, and illiteracy in these regions is as high as 26.6%, significantly more than the national average of 4.8%, said a statement from UNICEF.