Bolivia

This article presents an analysis of aspects guiding the management of risks associated with wildfires in territories governed by indigenous communities in Bolivia, and the crucial factors that contribute to responsive actions. These include: (i) indigenous worldviews regarding natural resources and the use of fire, (ii) strengthening of indigenous institutions for risk management, and (iii) autonomous, participatory and democratic indigenous community governance models. Using the Indigenous Territory of Lomerío of the Monkox nation as a case study, it also examines the advances, limitations and challenges in addressing wildfire threats, and the land management approach promoted by the indigenous territorial government. 

This report (in Spanish) is part of a series of case studies that provide insights into various mechanisms used to increase access to finance for smallholder farmers, SMEs and communities in their efforts to contribute to sustainable landscapes. The case studies focus on the strategies used by various stakeholders to reduce the risks of selected financial flows for investors, intermediaries and recipients. These case studies follow up on recommendations made by participants in the consultative process on innovative finance for sustainable landscapes. The goal is to provide more evidence of successful strategies in order to increase access to finance for smallholder farmers, SMEs and communities.

This case study by Fundación Profin provides information on the financial instrument, Revolving Fund, used by the Indigenous Forestry Association "Ascension" Santa Cruz, Bolivia, for the fulfillment of their social objectives of the integrated landscape, the financial flow in which it is developed and the mechanisms to mitigate associated and shared risks, in support of Community Forest Organizations in the area. 

As part of a multi-country review of community forest rights, the Instituto Boliviano de Investigación Forestal (IBIF) conducted a review of three of Bolivia’s indigenous territories—Monteverde, Lomerío, and Guarayos. We focussed on: (i) the outcomes of this collective tenure model in terms of livelihoods and forest conservation; (ii) the conditions and constraints for achieving positive outcomes; and (iii) the potential role of CSOs in improving the outcomes. In this policy brief we summarize some of the main outcomes of the review, and the consequent recommendations for CSOs. 

Strengthening community forestry as a strategy to enhance sustainable and equitable forest management is an important policy in Bolivia. A large part of the forest is used and managed by indigenous communities and local forest producers as part of their livelihood strategies. A key challenge is to develop public policies and instruments and corporate strategies that are compatible with, supportive to, and build on the local realities, needs and interests and the associated local arrangements. Local arrangements are a complex mix of many formal and informal arrangements which are largely unperceived, ignored and/or underestimated in the “formal world”. Neglecting the functioning of informal forestry sector and its linkages with the formal sector in policy making and business development constitutes not only a missed opportunity, but also increases the risks of policy and market failures as it may result in ill-designed instruments and regulations.

The document describe in detail the situation of forest use, timber production and financing modalities in the 12 communities of the study, highlighting the large diversity between them in terms of importance of forests and timber in the livelihoods, modes and levels of organisation of timber production and sale, negotiation power, accessing and preferences of different types of finance and the role and relations between formal and informal practices and actors. This emphasizes the importance to know and understand these diverse realities and that the application of one-size-fits-all approaches run a high risk of being ineffective. The study highlights the importance of forward payments, the reluctance of communities to access and apply for formal credits, the importance of the current system of intermediaries, how it functions (problems and opportunities), and how it could play a role in bridging the gap between the local realities and needs and the financial services provided by the formal institutions. The participatory approach applied, in which the communities - with support of the project - were the main agents of their own inventories and analysis, together with the sequences of sharing and feed-back workshops (in which they could mirror their own situations and experiences with the other communities) proved to be very effective for awareness raising and learning among the communities on their own situation and what they can do about it to improve. At the same time the study provides important insights for Bolivian Forest Authority, financial institutions and private sector how to better serve and/or engage with communities.