Sustainable Development and Environment

USAID works to protect biodiversity and conserve natural resources in the Bolivian Amazon, around Lake Titicaca, and in the Chaco forest.

Lake Titicaca: Lake Titicaca is an important area for biodiversity conservation that is threatened by agricultural, household, and industrial pollution. USAID focuses on reducing pollution and improving the environmental quality of Lake Titicaca by providing innovative income-generating activities for local residents. USAID’s Lake Titicaca project promotes environmentally-friendly technologies to process animal waste that would otherwise contaminate the lake. These include worm farms that produce fertilizer that is later sold and biodigestors that produce gas that can be used for cooking.

Amazon Conservation: Deforestation threatens the Bolivian Amazon primarily due to agriculture, illegal logging, and forest fires. USAID is works with community forestry organizations and indigenous groups to promote sustainable forest management and alternative livelihoods, including sustainable tourism. As a result of this work, more than 630,000 hectares of forest are currently under sustainable forest management plans and more than 5,700 people benefit.

Chaco Forest Protection and Watershed Management: The rich biodiversity of Bolivia’s Chaco forest, one of the largest remaining tracts of dry forests in the world, is threatened by land degradation. USAID works to protect the forest and increase potable water provisions for human consumption and agricultural production by compensating landowners for forest conservation, strengthening water cooperatives and community-based organizations, improving land management, and encouraging the use of technology for more efficient water use.

Improving Bolivian Productivity and Competitiveness: USAID supports micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises to take advantage of market opportunities, create employment, and increase production. The project focuses on food processing, textiles, wood and non-timber forest products, and handicrafts. Since 2010, nearly 3,000 new direct and indirect jobs have been created in targeted businesses, nearly 6,000 people have received training and technical assistance and more than $3.5 million in local and international sales have been generated.