Bolivian coca cultivation jumped by 10% in 2019, UN says

According to the Washington Post, a recent report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime found that “coca cultivation jumped 10% in Bolivia in 2019, the final year of President Evo Morales’ government, partly because of reduced eradication efforts amid rising social and political conflicts.”

The Washington Post further noted that “Thierry Rostan, the agency’s representative in Bolivia, noted the expansion of coca fields in six of the country’s 22 national parks where a “significant degradation of ecosystems and the environment” was seen. The most affected park was Madidi National Park in the Bolivia’s Amazon.”

The report also discussed what the potential ramifications of the pandemic would be: ““It is very likely that the area under coca cultivation will increase in the producing regions, due to lower levels of rationalization/eradication activities carried out for the control of surplus crops. These activities were temporarily suspended as of March 2020."

See the entire Washington Post article here.

The 20 Largest Rivers in the World

A recent Portuguese article listed the 20 largest rivers in the world. “Only about 3% of all water on the planet is fresh water, found mainly in glaciers and rivers” The source of one of the 20 largest rivers in the world is in Bolivia (rio Madeira), while two more run through Bolivia (Amazon and Paraná Rivers).

“Rio Madeira has a large part of its extension in Brazilian territory. However, its source is located in Bolivia, giving rise to the Beni River. Then, the river joins tributaries of the region and runs through the mountain ranges in Peru, until it enters Brazil.” This river is 3,3380 kilometers long.

“The Amazon River is a river so extensive” (6992 kilometers) “that it spans different countries. Its source is located in Peru, in Nevado Mismi, and the course of the river runs through Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Guyana. Due to its large extent, the Amazon is also the river with the largest volume of water on the planet and immense diversity of fauna and flora around it.”

“The Paraná River is the first in the list where the source is located in Brazilian territory. It is the second largest in Latin America” (4880 kilometers) “and extends through Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia.”

Government postpones restart of international flights due to escalation of pandemic

According to a Spanish-language article in Los Tiempos, Deputy Transport Minister Julio Linares has announced that the government has decided to not restart international commercial flights at this time due to the pandemic. A report from the Ministry of Health predicts that the peak of the infections in the country will occur “between September 8 and 10, a period in which Bolivia could exceed 130 thousand positive cases.” Epidemiological conditions and their impact will be assessed “every two weeks to set "tentative dates" to reopen the borders.”

“Argentina and Peru announced the opening of their borders between August and September, Brazil continues with its domestic operations planned for international flights.

Linares said that international air operators and neighboring countries asked Bolivia to have a date for the resumption of commercial air transport services, in order to schedule the sale of tickets.”

In order to stimulate the reactivation of internal air transport, the Ministry of Public Works, Services and Housing is preparing internal tourist packages on credit, with a 3 percent annual interest rate, for Rurrenabaque and Madidi.

Minister Ivan Arias said: "The airlines are going bankrupt, we are designing tourist packages through December when the pandemic will have diminished.”

AMAZON DEFORESTATION 2019

A report from the Monitoring the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP) “reveals the loss of over 1.7 million hectares (4.3 million acres) of primary Amazon forest in our 5 country study area (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru)* during 2019. “That is twice the size of Yellowstone National Park….Primary forest loss rose sharply in the Bolivian Amazon (222,834 hectares), largely due to uncontrolled fires escaping into the dry forests of the southern Amazon…Bolivia …had an intense 2019 fire season. Unlike Brazil, many were uncontrolled fires, particularly in the Beni grasslands and Chiquitano dry forests of the southern Bolivian Amazon (MAAP #108).

You can read the full report here.

Fire outbreaks this year are even higher than last year

Compared to last year, according to data from the Ministry of the Environment and Water, the accumulated heat sources until April 19 in 2019 were 2,761, while in the same period this year they already exceeded 3,368, the highest in the country so far. Other data indicates that "between January and April 24, 2020, there have been 15,354 sources of heat in Bolivia", exceeding the same period in 2019 by 35%, said the Friends of Nature Foundation (FAN), cited in an Infobae note.

Of these fire outbreaks, 442 were concentrated in 31 national and sub-national protected areas including Madidi National Park.

Concern has been raised by various groups, institutions and indigenous sectors of the risk of fires similar to what occurred in 2019 given the continuing existence of laws that guarantee "controlled" burns. The current government has not made efforts to repeal these laws. More information is available in Spanish here.

Bolivian ethnic group creates protocol to face COVID-19

According to this Spanish-language article, “a health protocol developed by a team of anthropologists, doctors, and tribal leaders is allowing tsimane indigenous communities settled in the Beni department, north-central Bolivia, to cope with the COVID 19 pandemic. This ethnic group is distributed in more than 100 communities located along rivers and forests in the Bolivian lowlands with a population of approximately 16,000 people. To date, they have no case of the new coronavirus. The spread of COVID19 among indigenous ethnic groups is cause for alarm among specialists, since many peoples would not be immunologically prepared.”

“Although there are no official data” of how many indigeneous people have come down with the virus in Bolivia, “the Observatory of Rights of the Indigenous Peoples of Bolivia confirmed”one death “in the indigenous territory of Lomerío (Santa Cruz) and 17 infected in Macharetí (Chuquisaca)” as of May 29.

“The protocol was prepared as part of the Tsimane Health and Life Cycle Project that has been working in that territory since 2002 by agreement with the Tsimane Grand Council and the Tsimane and Moseten Regional Council. The objective is to carry out research and primary health care and plan and execute prevention responses. The protocol is mainly based on preventing the entry of outsiders into the community, controlling the exit to places of greater risk, the isolation of people suspected of having the disease and communication campaigns in their own language. Although many of these measures are also being applied by other native ethnic groups, some aspects that could be considered unique are special efforts to protect older adults, equipping local health posts with oxygen concentrators and pulse oximeters, or Information on the location of villages and houses for contact tracing”, explained Michael Gurven by email.

The protocol recommends that community members “remain in their territory, that they do not go out to sell their products, such as fish, and we recommend how to disinfect them when they go to urban centers", SciDev.Net refers to Carola Vaca, Director of the Beni Biosphere Reserve and Biological Station, who participated in the first phase of the study.

“The protocol could be adopted by other native peoples adapting it to their particularities. "To be effective, the plans must be collaborative and must involve indigenous populations in the decision process," explains Gurven. “We have made closings of the entrance of roads so that the people of the cities and towns cannot enter the communities and the protocol helps us to make the communities and especially the older people of the community understand”, he comments to SciDev .Net. In a telephone interview, Maguin Gutiérrez Cayuba, Secretary of Health of the Great Tsimane Council. "What the pandemic shows is that indigenous peoples are adapting to this situation, revaluing traditional practices such as barter or the production of organic food and traditional medicine systems," Miguel Vargas Delgado, Director of the Legal Studies and Social Research (CEJIS) of Bolivia.

“He adds that the indigenous organizations themselves have taken measures to protect their health, "in the absence of the support of state institutions" in the face of the pandemic.”

“Alex Villca, Spokesperson for the National Coordinator of Defense of Indigenous Territories Originally from Peasants and Protected Areas of Bolivia, explains to SciDev.Net. in a telephone interview that "due to the dominant extractivist model, indigenous territories are no longer those spaces that in the past allowed self-sufficiency with hunting, fishing and fruit harvesting." "Many believe that being isolated within the jungle we would be self-protected, but it is not considered that we no longer have the resources as when our ancestors faced other viruses and pandemics, so it is important to see the situation of each indigenous people on a case-by-case basis," it states.”

“Collective isolation has been considered the only viable option in the face of epidemics and threats in many different indigenous groups around the world. But making that happen effectively, meeting food and healthcare needs, is not easy, says Gurven.”

“There are no miracle solutions, but we wanted others to see what we have done. Tribal leaders and all other stakeholders should meet as soon as possible to come up with the best plan possible given the local situation, ”he concludes. For his part, Vargas affirms that the diversity of indigenous peoples shows that the discussion of protocols is possible as long as they take into account the social, cultural and in particular health characteristics, which vary from one village to another. Homogenization should be avoided. According to Vargas, the protocols offer an immediate response by indigenous peoples to the pandemic but do not guarantee their survival. Added to this is the concern that the country's official health information system does not record cases by ethnic variable, which does not allow us to know the number of infected indigenous people. "It is urgent to have information disaggregated by ethnic self-identification," concludes Vargas.”

The protocol is described in more detail in an article published in the Lancet.

Perspectives from Women: the Pandemic & Indigeneous Communities in Bolivia

On May 28, 2020 Ruth Alipaz from San Jose de Uchupiamonas participated in a webinar in Spanish on perspectives from women on the pandemic’s effect on indigeneous communities in Bolivia. The webinar was taped and available to view here.

During the webinar, Ruth and her colleagues mentioned the concern that school instruction will transition to online (virtual), and their kids will then lose a year. Ruth said the cell signal is so poor in San Jose de uchupiamonas that they only have a weak signal early in the morning. they asked why the government can't consider allowing the instructors who did not return to their homes outside the community to teach. They also mentioned that now food isn't as big a concern in the remote areas, but, it will become a major concern if this continues. Plus they expressed concern about the lack of health insurance, and lack of health care providers in their communities. Ruth also talked about tapping into the knowledge of elders for how to treat disease and illness and maintain health.Their communities are so remote that accessing funds at banks is a big issue. And, main sources of income (e.g., sales of nuts, tourism) is not possible now. Also mentioned in the webinar was the dredging for gold that is expanding as well as the pressure for genetically modified crops to be used in the area

Covid-19: fear among Amazonian Indians

Alex Villca is quoted in this Spanish-language article about the impact of the pandemic on Amazonian Indians: “The quarantine has not stopped extractive activities in Bolivia. Since the emergency began, at least 64 oil and gas extraction fields have maintained their activities in Tarija, Santa Cruz and Chaco, which has generated questions and criticism. Our fear is that they will carry the virus to indigenous communities, ”said Alex Villca, from the Coordination of Defense of Indigenous, Native, Peasant and Protected Territories.

For some analysts, the lack of responses from governments means their complicity with the genocide of the indigenous peoples, in order to seize their lands and the numerous natural resources of the Amazon basin.”

The pandemic has already reached the banks of the Amazon River in Brazil, Colombia and Peru. “Without medicine or food, the indigenous communities of the Amazon face a situation of total chaos in the presence of the new coronavirus. Indigenous representatives complained about the little assistance they receive from the governments of the region despite the expansion of Covid-19.” Boats continue to transit the Amazon and communities fear that foreigners may infect them.

Andean condor: commitment to regional conservation

The Andean condor is the national bird of Bolivia, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador. With only an estimated 10,000 condors remaining, it is on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as a Near Threatened species.

Robert Wallace, director of the Madidi-Tambopata Great Landscape Conservation Program at WCS-Bolivia, was quoted in this Spanish-language article “"It is a species very vulnerable to any type of threat”

“This large bird, which can live 70 years in captivity, breeds until it is five or six years old and only has one calf every two years. This makes it take a long time to recover a population that loses some of its members due to poisoning, one of its main threats. In several countries, the condor is a victim of the poison destined for other species, such as the Andean fox. Dr. Wallace explains that there have been reports of poisoning in Colombia and Argentina, but "there are suspicions that this also occurs in Bolivia and Peru."

Madidi: dredgers drain the most biodiverse park in the world

In this Spanish language article, the threats of increasing gold mining, planned hydroelectric dams, illegal settlements and log cutting on Madidi National park and environs are described. A short video is also available.

Gold mining has grown enormously during the past few months. Recently, a journalistic team from El Deber and Mongobay observed 20 giant dredges or “dragons” “mining gold along the Kaka River and some of them were operated by Chinese citizens.”

This area is known for its diversity with “265 mammals, 1,028 birds, 105 reptiles, 109 amphibians, at least 314 fish, 5,515 plants and 1,544 butterflies” already documented and an additional 130 species being analyzed.

“Valentín Luna, indigenous Tacana and president of the Commonwealth of Communities of the Beni, Tuichi and Quiquibey Rivers … fears for the life of the peoples who inhabit the Madidi. "Those are the Chinese dragons - Luna indicates - that damage our rivers, pollute our fish and nobody does anything. Much of the food of indigenous peoples is extracted from rivers. " In recent years, according to the indigenous Tacana leader, Colombian citizens have also come to work in the area.”

The impact of mining can be felt several kilometers downstream. According to Oscar Campanini, director of the Documentation and Information Center Bolivia (Cedib) these negative effects are related to “residues of oils and fuels that are used to operate the motor pumps and the dredger motors.” as well as the “use of mercury, especially when the amalgamation is carried out on the beaches or near water sources.”. “Gold is running out in the areas where exploitation is now taking place and the trend is the incursion in areas closer to protected areas, where due to the type of mineral the implementation of new technologies that will have a greater environmental impact.”

“Gonzalo Flores, an environmental consultant who has worked with international organizations, explains that dredges not only jeopardize the natural vegetation that grows on the banks of the river, but by removing the bottom of the tributaries it also affects the fauna that lives in this aquatic ecosystem. He mentions that the constant removal of stones, sand and earth from the bottom of the river, is forming headlands of rocks that eventually end up becoming islands that can even alter the course of the river. “In rivers, large stones tend to settle naturally at the edges, while sand accumulates in the middle. When many dredges intervene in a sector, all this is affected and can cause floods”

"Under the pretext of mining , the opening of roads in the park has been carried out, there are new settlements and even the subjugation of land has been carried out. This can be seen in the southern part of our park," denounced Alex Villca, indigenous leader of San José de Uchupiamona.”

The heavy metal mercury, used to separate gold from the material extracted by the dredgers is released into rivers through the process. Although it is possible to filter and reuse 60-90% of mercury” the gold business is so profitable in areas close to Madidi that miners avoid this practice and they buy more mercury despite the high price.”

“Bolivia has become, in recent years, one of the main importers of mercury worldwide. The study The Amazon Biome against Mercury Pollution , by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Gaia Amazonas, published in early March 2020, provides revealing data: until 2010, about 2 tons entered Bolivia annually, but at From 2015 - one year after the approval of the mining law - this figure shot up to 140 tons and, in 2018, to 200 tons. Much of the mercury is used in mining, and according to the publication, another quantity is illegally exported to neighboring countries.”

When mercury “remains in rivers for a long time, it undergoes chemical transformations, turning into methylmercury, which, when ingested by fish, ends up affecting the health of people who live by fishing” “Research carried out between 2007 and 2008 - when Bolivia did not import even one ton of mercury per year - detected concentrations of this heavy metal in fish above the WHO recommended” levels. Bolivia now imports 200 tons of mercury.

“Wilson Sosa, an indigenous Esse Ejja who used to fish in the Kaka River, says that since the arrival of the dredgers in the area, they have had to deal with the shortage of fish for their food and the constant noise that prevents them from speaking. "They remove everything that is in the river, " says Sosa , " the fish eggs and the petas [river turtles], they leave nothing in their path."

According to CEDIB’s publication  natural resources in Bolivia, “the impact of mining exploitation is felt in the Madidi park and affects riparian populations due to the drag and deposition of mercury, the entry of sediments caused by the activity of dredges and changes in river fluvial dynamics.”

Regarding the plans to build hydroelectric plants in the area, Alex Villca, indigeneous leader of the San Jose de Uchipamonas community in the heart of Madidi said " We would necessarily have to migrate to other remote places , we do not even know where they would take us, even more so when almost the entire country already has an owner," On January 21 of this year, the Minister of Energy, Rodrigo Guzmán maintained that these projects were temporarily paralyzed.”

Mongabay version of this Spanish language article is also available.