FY 2001 Program

USAID’s request for FY 2001 includes support to: 1) continue our efforts in counter-narcotics through a performance-based Balance of Payments Program, and through the alternative development of marketable crops and self-sustaining linkages to regional and international markets in the Chapare and Yungas; 2) strengthen the social base of democracy and governance through the implementation of key reforms and institutional strengthening of the judicial branch and local governments; 3) continue increasing income and opportunities for Bolivia´s poor through access to financial services and the establishment of commodity sub-sectors in target areas; 4) improve production technology, linking local and international product markets, productive infrastructure, and school feeding through the P.L. 480 Title II program; 5) improve the health of the Bolivian population by supporting knowledge, attitude and behavior changes of mothers and children, and improving the quality and coverage of health care options through a more decentralized health care system; and 6) reduce degradation of forest, water, and biodiversity resources by discouraging deforestation and ensuring a reduction of pollution. The Clinton Administration has proposed a multi-year integrated USG response to "Plan Colombia." The proposal includes FY 2000 supplemental in INC funds to accelerate alternative development activities in the Chapare and to initiate alternative development activities in the Yungas.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

ACTIVITY DATA SHEET

Summary: Democracy in Bolivia depends ultimately upon the creation of a democratic culture that can sustain democracy in the face of economic and political crises. Increasing support for democracy, in turn, depends upon: 1) the performance of key institutions that interface with the population, such as the judiciary, the legislature, and the municipality, and 2) the capacity of the governed to participate in decisions made by these institutions.

USAID’s focus on democracy coincides with Bolivia’s recent efforts to support the rule of law and decentralization. USAID’s rule of law program is divided into three phases. The first phase concluded in early 1999 with the enactment of the Code of Criminal Procedures (CCP). This represents a major accomplishment for Bolivia and the AID program, and will result in a more effective and accessible justice system for all Bolivians. The second phase will focus on the two year period in which judicial institutions are preparing before the CCP takes full effect, supporting training, drafting of supporting legislation, institutional restructuring, resolution of cases begun under the old system, and public education in the Code. Phase III, which begins in FY 2001, when the CCP takes full effect, will focus on public dissemination, as well as additional assistance to GOB institutions to ensure the CCP’s effective and full implementation.

The Democratic Development and Citizen Participation (DDCP) activity provides technical assistance and training to municipalities, citizen organizations, single-district representatives, and municipal associations and seeks to increase the participation of women and civil society organizations in the democratic system. DDCP is demonstrating a widespread impact on the conduct of local government by educating both citizens and officials in participatory planning and municipal management. DDCP assisted this year in the drafting of a new Organic Municipalities Law, the creation of an Association of Women Council members, and a new Federation of Municipal Associations

Key Results: USAID assistance to strengthen and broaden the social base of Bolivian democracy will result in: key elements of rule of law becoming more transparent, efficient, effective, and accessible; single district congressional representatives becoming more responsive to constituent demands, and local governments in the Democratic Developments and Citizen Participation (DDCP) municipalities effectively responding to citizen needs and demands.

Performance and Prospects: Accomplishments in 1999 included the enactment of the CCP in May, and the approval of the CCP National Implementation Plan. The CCP has laid the foundation for a complete revamping of the justice sector and for a more accessible judicial system for all Bolivian citizens. Only through the successful implementation of the CCP, can the Bolivian public benefit from an accessible, fair and expeditious justice system. GOB counterpart institutions include the Ministry of Justice, the Congressional Justice Committees, the Attorney General’s office, the Rural Public Defense, and the Judicial Branch. A National Implementation Commission, consisting of all three branches of government and chaired by the Vice-President, oversees the implementation process. USAID and the German GTZ provide consultants and serve as secretaries to this body.

USAID funded and managed the training of 58 judicial officials and nine executives (including the Chief Justice and the Minister of Justice) at the University of Puerto Rico School of Law In this regard, USAID will continue to support the National Implementation Commission, and will provide intensive technical assistance to all branches of government in legal and institutional reform, training, and public education. USAID is also working closely with DEA and ICITAP to insure that anti-narcotics and law enforcement considerations are incorporated into the implementation process, by coordinating the case resolution process with DEA to ensure that narcotics traffickers are not released, and with coordinating with ICITAP on the new relationship between the prosecutor and the police.

The DDCP program expanded to provide full technical assistance to 20 pilot municipalities, and launched a program to improve representation in 15 congressional districts by bolstering representatives’ ability to influence legislation and respond to citizens’ interests. DDCP also assisted in the creation and strengthening of municipal associations in seven of nine regions in Bolivia, and eight municipal economic partnerships involving 73 out of 314 municipalities. These voluntary partnerships are created to improve economic planning and management, with private sector participation. More than one-third of Bolivia municipalities also benefited from grants to non-governmental organizations for strengthening citizen participation. A second Democracy Value Survey (DVS) in nine DDCP municipalities was completed which provides evidence that participation in municipal governance is clearly increasing, though citizens are less satisfied with municipal performance.

USAID will begin "graduating" the first group of 20 pilot municipalities – meaning these municipalities have instituted participatory planning processes to develop urban plans and annual budgets, and have modernized administrative systems. In turn, these cities will serve as resources to other municipalities by training them to develop annual Municipal Action Plans with broad citizen participation, improving their budgeting techniques, implementing their action plans, and incorporating citizen oversight. Through an NGO grant fund, lessons learned from these "teaching municipalities" are being disseminated through an additional 62 municipalities. Additionally, USAID is now planning to focus increased resources on municipal associations, the National Federation, and municipal partnerships. Increased resources for policy dialogue and reform, public education, and adapting DDCP approaches to larger municipalities are contemplated. Further assistance to the congressional representation component will await decisions by the congressional leadership on the role of single-member district representatives.

Possible Adjustments to Plans: The strategy period for the Democracy SO has been extended to 2004. The Administration of Justice activity has been modified to cover this extension, while an extension of the DDCP activity to 2004 is planned to include greater emphasis on municipal associations, policy, and larger municipalities. Additional support to the Bolivian Congress (for strengthening its experiment in single-member districts) is possible, subject to the availability of resources and requests for technical assistance from the Bolivian Congressional leadership.

Other Donor Programs: USAID and the German GTZ work from a single workplan in the rule of law program. The GTZ program is approximately $750,000 per year. The World Bank is planning a $20.0 million loan for judicial reform, and is exploring the integration of its workplan with the USAID-GTZ plan. This would create one of the most integrated donor efforts in any judicial reform program. The IDB continues to support citizen identification documentation, decentralization, and congressional modernization with financing of another $20 million. The Dutch ($14.6 million) and Danish aid programs work closely with USAID on decentralization. GOB direct contribution to USAID dollar-funded activities for FY 2000 is over $6.0 million. The OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) donor working group functions to ensure donor coordination and includes all major bilateral donors, the World Bank, UNDP and IDB. USAID is responsible for the coordination of the justice sector sub-group of the "Institutionality" Pillar donor-GOB coordination group.

Principal Contractors, Grantees or Agencies: Management Sciences for Development (Rule of Law) and Chemonics International (Democratic Development and Citizen Participation).

Selected Performance Measures:	Baseline (1998)	Actual (1999)	Target (2000)	Target (2001)
Increased citizen support/trust in the Judicial, Legislative and Municipal government institutions (a)	40.4	41.5	42	43
Increased citizen participation in DDCP municipal governments (b)	15%	18%	20%	22%
Increase in percentage of women participating in DDCP municipal Meetings	16%	19%	21%	23%
Congress is actively considering legislation complementary to the New Code of Criminal Procedures (CCP)		(c)	(c)	(c)

This is an index score on a 0 to 100 scale derived from five survey questions.

This indicator is a composite of three independent measures: participation in municipal government meetings, submission of a request to the municipal government, and presentation of complaints to the vigilance committee.

During 1999, the new Code of Criminal Procedures was approved and enacted, which would be the baseline for this indicator. For an effective implementation of the CCP, additional and complementary legislation is needed, including a new Judicial Branch Law, Public Ministry Law, and National Police Law. It is expected that in the Year 2000, at least two laws will be drafted and presented to Congress. By the end of 2001, at least two laws will be enacted, and two additional laws will be drafted.

ACTIVITY DATA SHEET

Summary: USAID's assistance improves entrepreneurial and business skills, supports rural productive infrastructure, and facilitates economic activities of the poor by providing access to financial services, marketing services and appropriate technology to enhance incomes and employment opportunities of the rural poor.

Under IR2, the recently designed Market Access and Poverty Alleviation (MAPA) activity will contribute significantly in the formation and strengthening of enterprises, reducing transaction costs and increasing competitiveness along selected commodity sub-sector chains, from inputs to the final market. This will increase incomes for those who live in poverty.

The P.L. 480 Title II program provides funds and food-for-work to improve rural roads, access to technology and marketing services, micro-irrigation projects and basic sanitation in over 80 municipalities in some of the poorest, most food-insecure areas of the country. This program has increased production of staple crops and introduced greenhouses for the cultivation of vegetables and other high-value crops.

Key Results: USAID's major focus is to increase income through expanded economic opportunities by overcoming a set of constraints to growth that include: limited access to micro-finance services, lack of access to technology and markets, weak productive infrastructure, and low levels of education.

Performance and Prospects: USAID continues to play a lead role in the expansion of micro-financial services in Bolivia with approximately 220,000 poor clients as of December 1999. However, the economic recession and other factors including: poor methodologies used by consumer credit institutions in an attempt to capture the micro-enterprise sector causing beneficiaries over-indebtedness; the Brazilian crisis; and the new customs law that has decreased the availability of contraband for sale by microentrepreneurs has had a negative effect on loan portfolio quality. The average loan portfolio is 10% in arrears in 1999 versus 4% in 1998.

USAID-supported programs benefited an increasing number of clients through the provision of credit services from micro-finance institutions by more than 17% between 1996 and 1999. The number of poor with savings in micro-finance institutions also has grown by 24% in 1999 as institutions increasingly move toward mobilizing capital from the private sector. USAID is committed to fostering broad-based economic growth and to helping overcome principal constraints that inhibit the productivity of Bolivia's poor. USAID assistance will strengthen the sustainability of financial intermediaries as they expand and diversify services while maintaining financial viability. Emphasis will be placed on improving financial services for small producers, expanding financial services to rural areas with a special focus on agricultural production, and financial institution regulation and supervision.

A new Rural Financial Services (RFS) activity under IR1 will seek to address the above microfinance issues and increase the availability of financial services in rural areas. One of the mechanisms that the RFS activity is considering is the Development Credit Authority (DCA). The DCA is an authority issued by Congress which allows the Mission to use loans and guarantees (backed by the Authority) to support USAID activities. USAID plans to apply for DCA Authority to provide loan guarantees to Bolivian financial institutions seeking to expand their portfolios in peri-urban and rural areas.

USAID-assisted activities in the productive sector directly contributed to increasing access to technological services for 5,700 production units (farms, artisans, fir ms, etc.) while over 3,660 producers accessed marketing services during 1999. The MAPA activity will assist rural producers to increase their incomes by developing improved services, and identifying new markets, research, technology transfer, marketing services, training and institutional strengthening. In addition, MAPA will support the Government of Bolivia's general plan for social development and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development (MGDAR) strategy for agricultural and rural development. In 2000 and 2001, approximately 300 additional rural families per year are planned to benefit from production and marketing services and technical assistance. In addition, these families will benefit from institutional strengthening of their farmer groups and/or associations.

P.L. 480 Title II resources will be used in targeted communities to improve secondary roads, thereby creating linkages between producing areas and market towns to increase the volume of products farmers are able to sell. USAID Title II activities also focus on improving, rehabilitating, and expanding community micro-irrigation systems to increase productivity and extend the planting session. Activities will include organizing, establishing, strengthening, and training beneficiaries in the maintenance, operation and revenue collection of the improved infrastructure. Finally, Title II resources will continue to support technology transfer and improved cropping practices. Good rains contributed to a successful 1998-99 crop cycle, helping rural households recover from the devastating El Niño induced drought of 1997-98. Rural income targets of $825 will likely be achieved in 1999, marking a substantial increase over the 1996 baseline of $713. Provision of marketing and technology services for a range of production units (farms, firms, etc.) has continued to rise in accordance with planned targets.

USAID also assists over 100,000 school children per year through a Title II sponsored school feeding program, which is directed at reducing dropout rates, specifically among girls. USAID will continue a school-feeding program designed to complement the World Bank-funded Educational Reform Program which provides proven incentives for children to stay in school. Since a prerequisite of economic growth is an educated, well-trained labor force, the school-feeding program is directed at the poorest primary students in rural and peri-urban areas.

Possible Adjustments to Plans: USAID/Bolivia and the GOB have completed the design of the MAPA activity which will require some adjustments to planned indicators. As implementation begins, further micro-level planning, crop selection, fund establishment and other factors will clarify performance targets.

Other Donor Programs: With scarce unrestricted DA resources, donor collaboration and leveraging is fundamental to USAID’s strategy. The EU is supporting the GOB food security strategy with nearly $60 million. Collaboration with Title II Cooperating Sponsors (NGOs), which work in some of Bolivia's poorest, most food-insecure areas, is also an essential part of USAID's strategy. Municipal authorities involved in the implementation of Popular Participation activities, obtain enough funds to allow them to complement that of the Cooperating Sponsors. The GOB contribution to USAID dollar-funded activities in FY 1999 is estimated to be $840,000.

The donor community supporting the poverty alleviation plan with MAGDR has established a committee which serves as a coordination body between the MAGDR and the donor community for the establishment of four Private Agricultural Foundations (FDTA). Four other bilateral institutions (Swiss, Dutch, German and British) have committed themselves to support the establishment and implementation of the FDTAs and funding levels are still under discussion. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is currently negotiating with the GOB on supporting the Bolivian System for Agricultural Technology as a whole with about $16 million for four years. IDB's funding will contribute to USAID/Bolivia's efforts to support the GOB initiative through the MAPA project with the FDTA/Valleys.

Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: USAID implements microfinance activities through U.S. organizations (including World Council of Credit Unions, Agricultural Cooperative Development, International Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance, ACCION International, Freedom from Hunger), PROMUJER and numerous other local NGOs. The P.L. 480 Title II program is implemented by four U.S. Cooperating Sponsors: Project Concern International, Adventist Development and Relief Agency, Food for the Hungry International and CARE. USAID/B will implement the MAPA activity through a competed U.S. direct contract that will support the Valleys Foundation.

Major Results Indicators:	Baseline (1996)	Actual (1999)	Target (2000)	Target (2001)
Number of production units receiving technology services	1,430	5,700	5,711	8,007
Number of production units receiving marketing services	230	3,660	3,248	4,767
Number of household with access to credit	130,040	221,709	275,000	300,000
Number of poor household with savings facilities	231,457	287,501	337,00	368,000
Number of communities with infrastructure constraints resolved	130	620	735	800

The results in the first two indicators are not cumulative.

ACTIVITY DATA SHEET

Summary: Though noteworthy gains have been made in health in Bolivia, considerable challenges remain. The health system still fails to reach about 25% of the populace, and deficiencies in the quality of services are extensive. Mutual mistrust separates the formal health system from many of its intended beneficiaries, who are largely indigenous populations. At the same time, several aspects of the policy environment show promise of continued improvements on a larger scale. Laws on decentralization and popular participation support increased attention to long under-funded rural areas and heightened citizen involvement. In 1999, the GOB introduced a Basic Health Insurance Scheme and an Epidemiological Shield Program that have the potential to make profound differences in the impact the public sector can have on health. A renewed commitment to reproductive health, within a framework of client rights, is another positive sign.

Within this framework, USAID works on three levels. It helps people take actions in their daily lives to protect and promote their personal health and that of their family and community. USAID assistance works to extend the coverage of services, while improving their quality, in the knowledge that extension of coverage without at least a minimum threshold of quality and acceptability will not help narrow the divide between services and their intended clients. And USAID promotes actions at the local level that help decentralize the health system making it more participatory and, thereby, responsive, accountable and transparent. Over 1.3 million Bolivian children under age five and over two million Bolivian women of childbearing age are the major beneficiaries of USAID health support.

Key Results: USAID helps improve the health of the Bolivian population by improving child survival and reproductive and sexual health practices; improving quality and increasing coverage of community health care; and supporting the development of a more decentralized and participatory health care system.

Performance and Prospects: Over the last five years, USAID has contributed to significant improvements in the health of the Bolivian population, as demonstrated by data from the 1998 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), relative to comparable data from the 1994 survey. Between 1994 and 1998, infant mortality declined from 75 to 67 deaths per 1,000 live births; the percentage of malnourished children under age five (as measured by weight for age) fell from 16% to 8%; and the percentage of infants who had experienced a bout of diarrhea in the two weeks preceding the date of interview dropped from 30% to 19%. In the same period, the percentage of pregnant women seeking prenatal care from a trained provider increased from 53% to 65%; births attended by a trained provider rose from 47% to 57%; women in union using a modern contraceptive method grew from 18% to 25%; and couple-years of protection increased by 170%. These improvements can be partly attributed to USAID's role in supporting decentralization of the health system, improved reproductive health services in the public and private sectors, national health communication and education campaigns, the development and expansion of social marketing projects for contraceptives and locally-produced oral rehydration salts, and technical assistance to the national vitamin A-fortified sugar and iron-fortified flour programs.

In FY 2001, USAID will help improve and expand quality health care services in the public and private sectors, as well as strengthen community education and mobilization activities in ways that promote the exercise of client rights. Through a five-year bilateral agreement signed in 1998, USAID will continue work with the Ministry of Health of Bolivia under the Integrated Health Project, or PROSIN (formerly PRODESCO), through eight operational divisions: 1) Child Survival, supporting nationwide immunization campaigns and integrated management of childhood illness (IMCI); 2) Reproductive and Sexual Health, providing an integrated approach to reproductive health for adults and adolescents, including pre- and post-natal care, safe childbirth, cancer screening, and family planning; 3) the National Social Security Medical System, offering reproductive health services throughout its network of 94 urban health facilities, which serve nearly 20% of the population; 4) HIV/AIDS, implementing activities to prevent and treat sexually-transmitted diseases in high-risk groups and provide prevention and support services for HIV/AIDS; 5) Support to the Ministry of Health in its yearly training program of some 40,000 armed forces recruits and officers, in child survival, reproductive health and gender issues; 6) Epidemiological Surveillance, featuring operations research, diagnosis, prevention and control of such priority infectious diseases as malaria, yellow fever, and tuberculosis; 7) the National Health Information System, strengthening the provision of timely, quality data that will help prevent disease outbreaks and improve health planning and decision-making processes; and 8) Community Health, implementing a district health development program that will institutionalize quality management, to provide and expand quality health care and community education in priority districts exhibiting some of the poorest socio-economic and health indicators in Bolivia. Additionally, USAID supports a demographic analysis and population policy unit within the Ministry of Sustainable Development.

In the private sector, operational support will continue for Bolivia's model self-financing, high-quality, primary health care provider (PROSALUD), for which USAID established an innovative endowment to enhance its long-term sustainability. Assistance will continue to Bolivia's largest provider of family planning services in the private sector (Center for Information, Education and Services), allowing it to strengthen further its reproductive health services and expand its community adolescent program. A federation of 24 private and non-governmental organizations (PROCOSI) will continue to receive support for child survival and reproductive and sexual health services for 35% of Bolivia's rural population. The PROCOSI organizations will continue activities in community prevention and control of such priority infectious diseases in rural areas as tuberculosis, malaria, and Chagas. USAID will also support Population Services International to increase distribution and sales of contraceptives, produce and implement mass media educational campaigns on reproductive health and undertake community education. The PL-480 Title II program will continue to underwrite efforts in child survival and maternal health through a combination of food and local currency resources. These resources are directed at reducing child and maternal malnutrition and improving biological utilization of food through integrated health, education, and water and sanitation interventions.

Possible Adjustments to Plans: As new data become available on progress made and outstanding needs, USAID will continue to refine program activities in ways that focus on maximizing achievement of results.

Other Donor Programs: USAID works closely with the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA), the World Health Organization/Pan American Health Organization (WHO/PAHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Bank (IBRD - $25 million loan for sector reform), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB - $45 million loan for Epidemiological Shield Project), and German, Canadian, British, Belgian, Japanese, Dutch and Spanish bilateral assistance agencies. One forum for coordination is the Equity Pillar of the GOB’s National Plan of Action. UNFPA ($2.4 million) continues to underwrite program coordinators in Bolivia’s nine departments, contraceptive supplies in the public sector, the GOB’s rural reproductive health initiative, and co-finances with USAID the demographic analysis and population policy unit. The Department for International Development of the UK finances ($24.4 million) contraceptives and medicines for sexually-transmitted infections cared for in the public sector, provides support to the MOH logistics system and supports malaria control efforts. Other channels for coordination are the inter-agency coordinating committees on immunization, flour and sugar fortification with micronutrients, reproductive health, safe motherhood, epidemiological surveillance, and child health that the GOB chairs and in which USAID and other donors participate. In the health sector, GOB counterpart contributions fund salaries, clinic facilities and most other recurrent program costs. The IBRD and the IDB have recently negotiated loans with the GOB to implement large health projects through 2002. The anticipated contributions from the GOB to USAID dollar-funded activities in FY 2000 total $2.3 million. Under terms negotiated with the IDB, IBRD and the International Monetary Fund regarding protected investment in priority social programs, the GOB contribution to such programs in health and related areas, including education, will be $39.5 million during 1999-2000.

Principal Contractors, Grantees or Agencies: Major USAID-financed partners include nine GOB technical units, and over 25 non-governmental organizations, almost all of which belong to the USAID-supported NGO network. Significant technical assistance is provided through several Global Field Support cooperating agencies. In FY 2000 support is beginning for a new Bolivian NGO active in health information, education and communication. Four U.S. cooperating sponsors implement PL-480 Title II health activities: the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), Project Concern International, Food for the Hungry International and CARE.

Selected Performance Measures:	Baseline (1998)	Actual (1999)	Target (2000)	Target (2001)
Infant mortality (per 1,000 live births)	67	52	47	42
Maternal mortality (per per 100,000 live births)	390†	---	340	300
Contraceptive prevalence 1	48.3	51	53	55
Couple-years of protection 2	229,415	200,000‡	252,930	265,577
† 1994 data; no more recent reliable data are available. ‡ Projected from the first 2 quarters of data.

² These figures are for planning and reporting only. The figures for couple-years of protection may actually decrease at certain points, due to increased availability of a wider range of contraceptive methods.

ACTIVITY DATA SHEET

Summary: Bolivia is a global biodiversity "hotspot" straddling the extremely diverse tropical Andes. Its 53,000,000 hectares of forest make it the sixth most forested country in the tropics. Bolivia’s natural resources are at risk, however, particularly from rapid deforestation in the lowlands. Deforestation results from many factors, including the low values assigned to forests; new infrastructure that provides access to remote areas, encouraging colonization; and insecure land tenure, which prompts landowners to demonstrate ownership through deforestation. While Bolivia has created a protected area system that encompasses 13% of the country, most parks are not adequately managed, placing their biodiversity at risk. Moreover in urban areas, industrial and urban waste threaten both environmental and human health.

USAID addresses these problems through a three-pronged approach. First, the BOLFOR forestry program works with the government (national and municipal), the private sector, indigenous groups, municipal producer associations, and non-governmental organizations to promote sustainable forestry where it is the most appropriate land use. In a resource rich but impoverished country, well-managed commercial forestry can foster development while creating economic incentives for forest conservation. Voluntary certification is proving a useful tool, helping Bolivian producers access northern markets while encouraging sustainable forestry. Second, the USAID-supported parks programs enable non-governmental organizations and Bolivia’s Park Service to effectively manage four protected areas. Just one of these areas -- Madidi National Park -- conserves 11% of the world’s bird species, while a second – the 3,400,000 hectare Gran Chaco National Park – is the largest managed by an indigenous group. Lastly, in urban areas where industrial and urban waste is a serious problem, USAID is promoting cleaner industrial production and the proper disposal of medical waste.

Key Results: Environment programs in Bolivia will result in (1) the ecologically, socially, and economically sustainable management of large areas of lowland tropical forest; (2) the conservation of key protected areas through better on-the-ground management and eco-regional planning; and (3) increased energy efficiency and reduced industrial and hospital pollution through the application of cleaner technologies.

Performance and Prospects: Forest management continued to improve in 1999. The area of tropical forests independently certified as "well managed" grew to 667,112 hectares (placing it first in Latin America and second globally). An additional 480,000 hectares are in the process of being certified. A second means for measuring progress in forestry is the area under which 12 key sustainable forestry practices are being applied. In 1999, the area where these practices are being applied grew to 1,298,630 hectares (includes the 667,112 already certified). USAID is currently working to improve management on an additional 580,621 hectares.

Consolidation of the new model of sustainable forestry in Bolivia remains the major challenge. In particular, the BOLFOR program has been increasing its efforts with rural social groups in order to involve them in the forestry activities. In 1999, BOLFOR worked with eight different municipal reserves and supported 10 local social groups in the preparation of their forest management plans for over 340,000 hectares. At the same time, BOLFOR supported forest management activities in five different indigenous territories on 286,000 hectares.

The Forest Superintendency (FS) is the GOB entity responsible for overseeing the implementation of Bolivia’s new forestry law. It continues to receive BOLFOR support given the key role it plays in supporting sustainable forestry. Working with the FS and the Ministry of Sustainable Development (MDSP), BOLFOR has identified approximately 30 million hectares of permanent production forest in an effort to establish a permanent forestry estate in Bolivia. A proposed presidential degree dedicating these areas to forestry is in its final approval process and should be issued by the end of 1999. The FS has also moved to privatize certain functions, including 50% of its road checkpoints.

The parks programs also made progress in 1999. The management plan for the Chaco Park has been completed and programs in wildlife management are underway. The current challenges are largely institutional, and institutional strengthening will continue to be a focus in coming years. The GOB is expected to grant the Izoceno Indians title to an additional 1.9 million hectares that adjoin the park in 2000. USAID will support the development of the management and investment plan for this entire area as well as the park itself. Elsewhere, USAID-supported activities were initiated in the Eduardo Avaroa Faunal Reserve and Madidi National Park. A new program was developed with the World Wildlife Fund to conserve forests along the eastern slopes of the Andes. Together, these programs will contribute to the conservation of over 4.5 million hectares in priority eco-regions.

In addition to programs that we fund, USAID/Bolivia contributes to other USG environmental initiatives in Bolivia. In 1999, the USG reached agreement with the GOB to transfer funds from the Enterprise for Americas Initiative (EAI) Program into a newly created private foundation. EAI is a debt-for-development swap that supports environmental projects implemented by NGOs. In recent years it has not dispersed funds as anticipated due to management difficulties within the National Environment Fund (FONAMA). USAID is working with the GOB to create private foundation and transfer EIA funds to it, both of which will be completed by the end of 2000. The GOB is also considering voluntary targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, giving it an important role in international discussions of the Kyoto Protocol. The Department of Energy is providing technical assistance to that end, with modest support from USAID.

Possible Adjustments to Plans: Three adjustments are being considered. The first would extend the BOLFOR forestry program from 2000 through 2004. Despite the considerable gains achieved in Bolivia’s forestry legislation and private sector capacity, indigenous groups, municipal producer associations, and the Forest Superintendency require additional technical assistance and support to ensure that fundamental changes to Bolivia’s forestry paradigm are sustainable. Second, USAID is considering an extension of the Gran Chaco Program focussing on the institutional strengthening of CABI, the indigenous park management authority. Third, a new program is being developed to support cleaner industrial production. It will address both the technical and financial constraints to more widespread adoption of cleaner production technologies, and protected support to the nascent Bolivian National Center for Clean production.

Other Donor Programs: While USAID remains the largest donor in the forestry sector, International Tropical Timber Organization, The Netherlands, Switzerland and several NGOs, including the World Wildlife Fund, are funding complimentary activities. The Netherlands, Germany and the Global Environment Facility/World Bank are also funding complementary conservation activities in protected areas. The new cleaner production program will be co-funded by USAID, the World Bank, and several European donors.

Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: USAID-financed environmental activities are implemented by Chemonics International, Wildlife Conservation Society, the World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, the Nature Conservancy, Tropical Research and Development, and RCG/Hagler-Bailly. Key counterpart institutions include the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Planning; the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development; National Environmental Fund; National Chamber of Industries; National Forestry Chamber; the Forestry Superintendency; the National Land Reform Agency (INRA), the Izozog indigenous community; the Confederation of Chiquitano Indians; and a range of Bolivian environmental NGOs.

Selected Performance Measures:	Baseline (1995)	Actual (1999)1	Target (2000)	Target (2001)
Area (ha) under sustainable forestry or adequate park management	100,000	1,543,630	2,045,000	5,445,000
Area (ha) of forest independently certified as well managed	52,000	667,112	1,000,000	1,500,000
Area (ha) in which 12 key sustainable forestry practices are applied	52,000	1,298,630	1,800,000	2,300,000

ACTIVITY DATA SHEET

Summary: The U.S. Government Counternarcotics Strategy in Bolivia is multi-faceted, covering all aspects of eradication, interdiction and alternative development, and is closely linked to the GOB's strategy to rid Bolivia of all illegal coca and cocaine by 2002. In recent years this strategy has produced outstanding results. In 1999 alone, the GOB reduced coca cultivation by a remarkable 43 percent. It is estimated that over 25,000 farm families in the Chapare will be coca-free by the end of calendar year 2002. In the late 1980s, coca was the principal crop grown in the Chapare and accounted for the majority of income and employment in the region. As a result of USG-supported alternative development efforts the area planted in commercially viable crops is now 105,000 hectares, compared to only 45,000 hectares in 1987.

The increasing seriousness of the GOB's eradication program, combined with USAID's alternative development initiatives, is encouraging farmers to actively seek alternatives to coca production to adequately provide licit income for their families. USAID's new Consolidation of Alternative Development Efforts (CONCADE) activity is focused on creating market-oriented approaches to alternative development, reducing subsidies paid to individual farmers, and establishing closer linkages between eradication and alternative development

USAID's current alternative development activities are focused in Bolivia's major coca growing region, the Chapare. This region is the size of New Jersey, and over half its population is engaged in farming activities. If sufficient funding becomes available this year, USAID will also initiate alternative development in a second coca-growing region, the Yungas. Initial planning for activities in the Yungas is already underway.

Key Results: The counternarcotics program is focused upon accomplishing four inter-related outcomes: 1) all coca will be eliminated from the Chapare, 2) farmers who receive development assistance must maintain their lands free of coca, 3) only those products for which a sustainable market demand can be established will be promoted, and 4) sustainable market linkages will be established for the alternative products.

Performance and Prospects: The GOB has developed a comprehensive counternarcotics strategy to eliminate all illegal coca from Bolivia by 2002. Achievements for 1999 (an outstanding 43 percent net reduction in coca cultivation) show that the GOB is highly committed to ridding the country of drugs. USAID's Cochabamba Regional Development Project (CORDEP) ended on May 31, 1999 and a new activity, the Counternarcotics Consolidation of Alternative Development Efforts (CONCADE), started on June 1, 1999. CONCADE will build on and consolidate the alternative development results obtained by the CORDEP program.

Following years of investment, research and steady progress, USAID's alternative development activities are yielding results far beyond what had been originally anticipated. The past few years have witnessed booming progress in diversifying crops, improving product quality, and expanding national and foreign markets. The main products developed under the USAID program are bananas, pineapples, palm hearts, passion fruit, and black pepper. Fruit production increased by 35% during 1999 alone at 151,225 metric tons. The wholesale value of licit produce leaving the Chapare increased 35 % from $41 million in 1998 to $55.7 million in 1999. Bananas have become the most significant generator of licit income and employment. Between 6,000-7,000 boxes/week of Chapare bananas are now exported weekly to Argentina and Northern Chile. As a result of the improved quality of bananas, farm-gate prices increased 460% since 1992. This increase is associated with improved production technology as well as improved fruit quality in fields that have benefited from USAID funded technical assistance.

Currently, there are over 65 agri-businesses that have invested over $25 million in the Chapare. Seventeen private firms have invested over $7.4 million of their own resources in alternative development related agro-industries. Another half-dozen firms outside the Chapare regularly buy Chapare produce for processing. Five companies in the Chapare have moved into the category of clearly sustainable businesses. These companies have identified markets, installed capable administration and are carefully managing the efficiency of their enterprises.

Augmenting and improving the Chapare's infrastructure is essential to improving its economy. To date, over 3,000 kilometers of roads have been improved or maintained to all weather standards and approximately 100 bridges have been built with USAID support. Even with the dramatically increased outputs of licit products, farm-gate prices have continued to stay high because of the improved roads, the opening of new domestic and export markets, and the improvement of product quality.

The new CONCADE activity is focused on creating market-oriented approaches to alternative development, reducing subsidies paid to individual farmers, and establishing closer linkages between eradication and alternative development.

Possible Adjustment to Plans: During 2000, the GOB will expand its counternarcotics program into the Yungas, an area northwest of the Chapare where licit, chewing-coca has been grown for centuries. In recent years, the amount of hectares dedicated to licit coca production in the Yungas has expanded beyond that required to meet traditional licit demand. Subject to the availability of sufficient funding, USAID will initiate alternative development activities in the Yungas. Until the GOB determines the target level for reduction of coca cultivation in the Yungas, USAID cannot establish benchmarks for the number of farm families who would receive alternative development assistance in this new area.

Other Donor Programs: The fight against narcotrafficking is at the top of the GOB's agenda. It is one of the five major initiatives to improve Bolivia's international image and demonstrate that Bolivia is an attractive and safe country for investors. Several donors provide support in this area. The European Union (PRAEDAC) will provide funding for cadastre, infrastructure and road improvement activities. Spain has announced that Bolivia will be their number one recipient of development assistance in the coming year, including alternative development. Belgium has signed a bilateral agreement to begin alternative development activities in 2000. The UNDCP/FAO and USAID have entered into a cost-sharing agreement for agro-forestry, forestry and managerial training.

Principal Contractors, Grantees or Agencies: The U.S. contractor Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI) oversees the implementation of CONCADE activities by the GOB implementing entities, including the Bolivian Institute of Technical Assistance (IBTA), the National Department of Highways and Rural Roads (SNCV), and the National Alternative Development Office (PDAR).

Selected Performance Measures:	Baseline (1996)	Actual (1999)	Target (2000)	Target (2001)
Wholesale value of licit produce leaving the Chapare (million of US$)	0	56	64	74
Number of families participating in coca-free zones*	0	9,489	18,000	22,000
Number of sustainable businesses operating and serving the Chapare utilizing licit products or supplying licit agro-industries	15	50	65	75
Annual net coca eradication (has.)	500	15,353	20,00
* GOB target