ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT:
BOLIVIA

	Rehabilitation and Modernization of Organic Banana Production in Bolivia for the Export Market
	Modernization of the Organic Cacao Industry in Alto Beni Bolivia
	Land Titling in the North and South Yungas of La Paz, Bolivia
	The Generalized Land-Use Evaluation and Management Tool (GLEAM)

The cultivation of coca leaf crops in Bolivia is a millennium old tradition that is conserved in the country due to the large amount of demand from cultural uses by the native population. This type of production and consumption is an activity considered legal since it is related to the production of maté, the mastication and its use as raw material in certain ethnic rituals.

Nevertheless, with the explosion in the use of narcotic and psycho-tropical substances that took place in the late 1970s and during the decade of the 1980s, Bolivia faced the situation of being the legal producer of the principal supply used in cocaine production, as well as, in coca leaf production. The economic depression of the rural areas was aggravated by the presence of droughts and floods, the closing of mines and the economic crisis at the national level. All of these factors added to rapid growth for the demand of cocaine, as well as, the price increase for the drug.  The consequence was a resounding increase in the production of coca leaf, which went beyond the areas that were considered "traditional" production. This situation made regions like Chapare (in the tropic of Cochabamba) transform itself into producing zones of coca leaf, since the activity provided a constant and secure income for the farmers of the region.

In the 1970s, with a desire to fight this situation, plans to eliminate the supply of cocaine were concentrated in the search of agricultural productive alternatives that were able to economically compete with coca crops. As of 1974, the substitution of an agricultural crop by another one in its primary productive phase was put into effect. This was the first part of the alternative development plans that was to create the first link of a value chain. This concept was later reevaluated, since it wasn’t possible to expect all of the farmers to use their resources (earth, capital and manual labor) for a certain type of agricultural production. This notion, based on exclusively economic criteria, such as profitability, turns out to be inconsistent compared to the economic benefits of an illicit activity with respect to a licit activity.

In 1983, the concept to diminish the economic dependency of the farmers on coca crops spread with the vision of diversified farming development, circumscribing its actions to the primary productive phase of the respective value chains. From this point on, elements arose which formed an approach to rural development that incorporated some components of road infrastructure, social organization and health into their plans.

Through Law 1008 of 1988, the recognition of licit and traditional crops as medicine, mastication and religious rituals was put into legal context. A legal limit was determined in regards to the licit crops and at the same time it was allowed to consolidate a demystification of the ritual consumption. At that time in Bolivia, Alternative Development was considered a process with the fundamental goal of displacing coca production as raw material for cocaine production. The projects would accomplish this through the main idea of generating income by means of development of other activities, especially farming, forestry, and agro-industry. They would concentrate on high coca producing zones with systems of productive and social support. Two crop control strategies have been implemented as well: one of compensation for licit crops and the other one of manual and mechanical eradication.

In April 2002, the Bolivian Government asked CICAD to conduct an in-depth evaluation of the impact that the National Drug Control Plan (Dignity Plan) 1998-2002 has had on illicit drug trafficking, production and consumption in Bolivia. The evaluation of the four pillars of the Dignity Plan – alternative development; drug abuse prevention, treatment and rehabilitation; eradication, and interdiction – was completed in July, and showed a more than 90% reduction in illicit coca crops between 1998 and 2002.

Diverse approaches, variability, and emphasis on one aspect or another recognizes that the central problem is related to economic and social development. Therefore the best form to fight drug trafficking and solving the problem of coca continues to be promoting sustainable development in their economic, social, political and environmental dimensions.

In August 2001, by virtue of the Agreement Frame of Cooperation between the Secretary General of the O.A.S. and the Government of Bolivia on Alternative Development projects in the Republic of Bolivia, different alternative development projects and programs started which directly contributed to the improvement and increase of farming production in Bolivia. The main intention of these projects is to dissuade the inhabitants of the region to become involved with illicit activities, migrating to the coca fields in search of economic opportunities, and dedicating themselves to illegal activities in this territory.

The idea is to create legitimate gains, generating activities and infrastructure in the zone to dissuade the possibility of displacement to the adjacent areas. These productive projects concentrate their activities in the investigation, qualification, integrated handling of pests, biological control and diseases, extension of the production, agro-industrial transformation and commercialization.

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