Natural resource management in Bolivia

Forestry and land management legislation introduced in 1996 granted large forest areas to indigenous communities. However, access to forest resources was limited and the communities could not fully govern their territories. CICOL therefore started building the administrative and technical capacities of the indigenous Forest Productive Association of Lomerío. With this support, the association will be able to contribute to reformulating the forest management plans to sustainably harvest timber in the territory. IBIF has also played a strategic role by sharing knowledge and by supporting key decision makers such as the Bolivian Forest Service to adapt the current forestry framework and national forest certification system. This has helped to create interest on the part of other community-based organisations in the Gran Chiquitanía landscape to align their forest management plans with the national legal framework.