This Spanish-language article in Pagina Siete discusses several environmental challenges facing Bolivia in 2022. A concrete plan is still needed to “control the burning and prevent forest fires from continuing to add burned territory to the almost 14 million hectares lost in three years.” The Chiquitania, Amazon and Madidi Park “were victims of enslavement, forest fires, mining exploitation, agricultural expansion and droughts.” “Scientists and indigenous and environmental organizations“ are worried about “legal and illegal mining in rivers, as well as the construction of large hydroelectric plants.” “The controversial Chepete-El Bala” project still does “not have a clear environmental impact study.”
According to the article, ““Bolivia: energetic heart of South America” is the slogan of the Bolivian Government. To achieve this goal, there are four high-impact hydroelectric projects, which together are expected to produce around 10,000 MW of energy, almost all of it for export. These projects are Cachuela Esperanza, at the mouth of the Beni River; Chepete and El Bala, which is at the gates of the Madidi protected area; Rositas, which involves seven dams on the Rio Grande in Santa Cruz; and the Binational, which is on the Amazon river Madera, in Pando. They all have environmental files, but to date there is no information on the conclusion of the Environmental Impact Assessment Studies (EEIA). No project received prior consultation, nor does it have an environmental license, and only Rositas has committed Chinese financing.”
“El Chepete and El Bala, as well as Cachuela Esperanza, do not have final design studies or financing, and in the case of the Binacional hydroelectric plant, an inventory study of the Madera River is still pending by the company Worley Parsons Engenharia Ltda.
“Pretending to advance in the construction of mega-hydroelectric plants to export electricity is a nightmare due to its environmental and social impacts, its high costs and the indebtedness that it would cause without having a guaranteed market. It is essential to make the information about these mega projects transparent in order to promote a national debate,” said Pablo Solón, director of the Solón Foundation.”
“The management and care of protected areas in Bolivia is one of the challenges for this 2022, taking into account that they are affected by illegal mining, drug trafficking and subjugation, as explained by Óscar Campanini, director of Cedib.
"There are requests from mining cooperatives for certain protected areas to be rezoned and there are also extremes that go so far as to request that protected areas be eliminated, not only by miners, but also by other sectors," said Campanini. He gave as an example the situation of the Madidi Park, where the rivers are contaminated with mercury due to the "uncontrolled" exploitation of gold.
“The project that most worries us is the gold mining in the Madre de Dios River. . This plan will require an investment of 500 million dollars and will be in charge of the state Mining Corporation of Bolivia (Comibol).”