The TIPNIS Conflict in Bolivia

Abstract

Soon after the formation of the Plurinational State of Bolivia in 2009, the Isiboro Sécure National Park and Indigenous Territory (TIPNIS) became the epicentre of a conflict over the construction of a road, initiated by Evo Morales's administration, that would run through the park. Initially undertaken by the Brazilian company OAS, and funded by the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), the project was justified on the grounds that it would link the departments of Beni and Cochabamba, and bring development to an isolated locality. However, indigenous peoples from the lowlands opposed the scheme, and, together with their counterparts in the Andean region, organised a march that was violently dispersed by the Bolivian armed forces. In this article, I analyse the political processes in this Andean country, notably the reconfiguration of power from 2011 onwards, in parallel with economic measures adopted by the government. I conclude with observations about the relation between the national and regional spheres, arguing that indigenous repression forms part of a new developmentalist agenda.

New law puts Bolivian biodiversity hotspot on road to deforestation

“…The road has faced signifi cant opposition amongst lowland indigenous peoples and environmental advocacy groups [2]. In 2011, more than 1,000 lowland indigenous peoples marched by foot to La Paz, covering over 600 km to show their disapproval of the road plans [3]. Facing massive pu blic outcry and unprecedented media attention, the government of Bolivia had no option but to declare the territory as strictly protected.…”

“…The Bolivian government claims that the road will enable national integration, facilitate market access for rural producers, and bring services to isolated, river-dependent lowland indigenous communities. In turn, critics argue that the road will open a Pandora's box of social and environmental problems, including deforestation, biodiversity loss, social disruption and violation of indigenous peoples' customary rights [1][2][3], as reported for roads elsewhere in Amazonia [4,5].…”

“…Remarkably, 58% of the forest loss recorded in TIPNIS has taken place within 5 km of pre-existing roads, most notably around Section I (Figure 1). This area, also known as polygon 7, covers approximately 12% of the national park and is delimited by a zone of coca farming expansion [3]. The rate of forest loss in polygon 7 is eight times higher than that in the rest of TIPNIS and double that of Bolivian Amazonia (Supplemental information).…”

“…The fact that migra nts generally cause higher per-capita deforestation rates than local indigenous communities has been extensively researched in other parts of Amazonia and has been often linked to coca farming [6,7]. In line with the growing phenomenon of 'narco-deforestation' seen across many tropical forests in Latin America [7], coca cultivation by Andean settlers is commonplace in polygon 7 and rapidly expanding towards other areas of the park [3].…”

“…With an expanding frontier of coca cultivation [3] and new incentives for oil and gas exploration throughout Bolivia [2], it seems likely that the downgrading of the legal protection of TIPNIS will open an area of high conservation value to further encroachment. It is in this light that the controversial plans for the TIPNIS road should be evaluated.…”