Bolivia

Location

Central South America, southwest of Brazil 

National websites

 Bolivia factbook  

Embassy / Chancery in U.S.

Agencies responsible for biological inventory and conservation

Ministerio de Desarrollo Sostenible y PlanificacionAv. Arce No. 2147
La Paz, Bolivia

Non-governmental organizations concerned with conservation

 Organización Ecológica Perspectiva   

Universidad Tecnica de Oruro (UTO)  

Major Natural Resources

Bolivia, the fifth largest country in South America, is composed of five regions: the Altiplano, the highland valleys (with very fertile soil), the Yungas, which sit between the Andes and the Amazonian forest, the  Chaco, and the Amazonian Basin (see Lonely Planet - Destination Bolivia).  The country’s mail natural resources include tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, and gold.  Furthermore, in 1995, scientists found significant build ups of natural gas in North and South-West Bolivia.  Conservation International describes Bolivia as “a land of astounding contrasts and dramatic landscapes encompassing tropical, subtropical, and mountain life zones” (see Bolivia Country Program)

Major Environmental and Conservation Issues

According to the CIA, the most pressing environmental issues in Bolivia are “the clearing of land for agricultural purposes and the international demand for tropical timber are contributing to deforestation; soil erosion from overgrazing and poor cultivation methods (including slash-and-burn agriculture); desertification; loss of biodiversity; industrial pollution of water supplies used for drinking and irrigation” (see Bolivia factbook).  Another problem in Bolivia is coca cultivation—not only are forests cleared for this purpose, but chemicals are dumped into rivers and pesticides are used to improve production methods.  Also, with much of their habitat being destroyed for cultivation of coca, a number of plants and animals are heading towards extinction (see Bolivia Coca Trade).  The problem with the environmental issues is that the Bolivian government lacks the organization necessary to take effective action.  Fortunately, the government does not lack concern.

Statistics

Information Sources

Land area

1,084,390 sq km

Area of forest

49,345 sq km

Area of wetlands

Area of territorial waters

14,190 sq km

Population

8,139,00

Population Density

Area protected (ha) (only areas >1000ha) at all IUCN levels

9,233,019 ha

 World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Protected Areas Information

Fraction of land area protected (%)

8.4%

Major Protected Areas

List of Major Protected Areas   

Protected Areas Database (Sorted by country, search under Bolovia)

Endemic Species

 Query World Resources 1996-97 Data (search for “Globally Threatened Species,” select the appropriate categories and select Bolivia)

Endangered, Threatened and Vulnerable Species

World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Animal 

World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Plants

See maya-teach: Endangered species series - Vicuna

maya-teach: Endangered Species Series - Marmoset

SchoolWorld Endangered Species Project: Hyacinth Macaw

The Blake School: Endangered Species--Jaguar

Macaw! Macaw?

Threatened Parrots of Latin America and the Caribbean

Exinct Species

World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Animal http://www.wcmc.org.uk/species/plants/geographic_table.htm

World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Plants

Macaw! Macaw? (a recent extinction in Bolivia is the Blue-Throated Macaw)

Species listed on CITES Appendix I

CITES-listed Species Database

Species listed on CITES Appendix II

CITES-listed Species Database

Legislation

Laws protecting endangered or threatened species

see Agenda 21 - Bolivia and Implementation of Angenda 21

Administrative Decentralization Law No. 1654—delegated most of the responsibility of conserving the environment to the 9 departmental/regional governments.  Each department is required to to appropriate 85% of its funds to ceratin projects, including preservation and conservation of the environment. (see Bolivia: POLLUTION CONTROL EQUIPMENT)

Laws protecting endangered ecosystems

1993- Finalized National Strategy for Sustainable Development

August 1993-  Office of Environment Promotion was founded.

For a more in-depth list of laws, see Agenda 21 - Bolivia and Implementation of Angenda 21 (listed by countries, read the information on Bolivia in the table).

1992- Law on the Environment: 1-4 years in prison and a fine for causing environmental damage (see Environment-Bolivia: First Lawsuit On Environmental Damages)

“olivia's renewable natural resources are affected by serious problems including soil erosion, range degradation, illegal settlements, hunting, logging, and deforestation. Health-related problems include pollution caused by pesticides and industry” (Bolivia : Bolivia: state of the environment and natural resources : a field study)

Signatory to CITES

Ratified July 6^th, 1979 (CITES Home Page: CITES Parties)

Signatory to Ramsar Wetlands Convention

1990: Ramsar Contracting Parties

Signatory to Convention on Biological Diversity 

July 13^th, 1992.  See Multilateral Treaties Status Matrix for Bolivia

Signatory to Migratory Bird Treaty

Member of International Whaling Commission

Not a member: International Whaling Commission

Signatory to other international treaties designed to protect or manage biological resources

Multilateral Treaties Status Matrix for Bolivia

Natural Resource Use

Information Sources

Fisheries

The state of world fisheries and aquaculture PART 5 (read about Latin American Economic System on this page)

Forestry / deforestation

  -Deforestation due to coca cultivation
  -Industrial logging in Bolivia is particularly an interest of Japan

Bolivia Coca Trade
Japanese Logging in Bolivia

Ecotourism

Trade in wildlife products

 -illegal trade of endangered parrots (See Threatened Parrots of Latin America and the Caribbean)

Hunting

Other uses of natural resources

Human Impacts on Natural Resources

Information Sources

Air pollution

 Smelters in El Alto have been dumping toxic waste into the environment, including lead and arsenic. (see Environmental health newsletter, No. 26)

Water pollution

“Mining extraction pollutes fresh water through leaching, where damaging metals will enter underground water.”
(Bolivia Gold Mining)

Development activities

  -Building of Pipeline to access recently discovered natural gas

 -Mining, also leads to pollution

  TED Case Study: Bolivia Gas Pipeline and ENVIRONMENT: Plans Move Forward for Bolivia-Brazil Gas Pipeline

Environmental Impact of the Small and Medium Mining Sectors in Bolivia

Introduced species

 Database on Introductions of Aquatic Species - Search Form

Legislation addressing these issues

 “Bolivia has an environmental law (1992), which is regulated by five bylaws in five areas: (1) environmental management, (2) environmental control and prevention, (3) atmospheric pollution, (4) water pollution, and (5) activities with hazardous substances.” (see Environmental Impact of the Small and Medium Mining Sectors in Bolivia)

Restoration and Reintroduction

Information Sources

Programs for restoration of damaged habitat 

 -3/11/98--Bolivia signed an agreement with The Nature Conservancy to begin a forest conservation project: Bolivia Climate Change Project

Innovative Strategies: Debt-for-Nature Swaps

The Bolivia Forestry Project (BOLFOR) is “a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded program working to develop methods for the sustainable use of forest resources” (see Bolivia Country Program and USAID CP FY97 - Bolivia)

See Rio+5 Summary Report- Bolivia for information on environmental programs in Bolivis

Programs for ex situ conservation (captive breeding and reintroduction) of endangered species