According to this Spanish-language post by Fundacion Solon: “In the Terms of Reference (TDR) of the Environmental Impact Assessment Studies (EEIA) of the El Bala-Chepete (Beni) and Rositas (Santa Cruz) mega hydroelectric plants, a “public consultation” is established that does not relate to free, prior and informed consultation established in Article 30 and Article 352 of the Political Constitution of the State, nor with ILO Convention No. 169 or with the United Nations Declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples and affected populations have not been asked, nor have they defined and agreed with the authorities what the timing of the consultation will be, what will be the procedures to be applied, the documentation to be distributed, the languages to be used, the specialized advice they require , nor the necessary budget for the realization of it. The "public consultation" for these mega hydroelectric plants is only to: a) give very limited information, b) listen to some concerns and c) clarify some doubts. In no case is the search for free, prior, informed and good faith consent of indigenous peoples mentioned….”
“In the case of El Bala-Chepete, the Italian consulting firm Geodata has a combo contract for 11.8 million dollars to carry out: a) the final design of the two mega hydroelectric plants, b) the EEIA, c) the “public consultation” and d) the Terms of Reference of the international tender for the construction of mega hydroelectric plants.
For the works of El Bala-Chepete there will be three rounds of “public consultation and dissemination”. In the first round Geodata will present a summary of the project and explain the terms of reference of the EEIA. In the second round, it will explain “in a preliminary way the potential environmental and social impacts identified and the proposed mitigation measures”, and in the third round, “the results of the EEIA report” will be presented and the opinions / recommendations of the interested parties will be heard in the project and answers will be given to clarify their doubts and / or concerns of the participants ”.
Geodata will carry out the printed and digital dissemination (CD) of a “disclosure document” of the EEIA of the mega hydroelectric plants 30 days before the third round. The TDRs of the contract with Geodata indicate that “in each of the dissemination sites,” a book of minutes with pens will be incorporated, so that the actors involved and / or groups interested in the project can include their comments, concerns and / or recommendation.”