Bolivia country analysis of tropical forestry and biological diversity

This report contributes to the USAID 5 year strategic plan for Bolivia and examines the interaction between forest management, conservation and rural livelihoods in Bolivia’s tropical forest regions.The four main areas of study are:Status of Forest ManagementBiodiversity EndowmentStatus of Protected AreasStatus of the Forest IndustryThe report identifies significant constraints to further progress toward sustainably managing and conserving Bolivia’s biodiversity and tropical forests. These threats include:A land and forest policy framework that provides strong incentives for deforestation and weak incentives for sustainable forest management, biodiversity conservation, and forest fire prevention;Forestry institutions that are financially insolvent and lack technical capacity;Insufficient silvicultural and forest product research to support strengthening of the sector;A poorly developed wood products industry; andInadequate valuation of forest environmental services and use of non-timber forest products (NTFPs).The report recommends that USAID/Bolivia maintain its proposed Strategic Objective (SO) Forest, Water and Biodiversity Resources Managed for Sustained Economic Growth and support activities in the following four priority areas:Sustainable management of natural forests in the Bolivian lowlands,Improved community and private forest industries,Improved management of protected areas and biological conservation, andImproved livelihoods of rural communities through sustainable management of natural resources.In addition, it recommends that the Mission should consider the development of a crosscutting environmental communication and education program in support of the priority areas.