CEDIB study, reported in El Diario:
Report of Cedib
In Bolivia, deforestation reached 350,000 hectares per year
• According to the document released by Cedib, Bolivia has the highest level of clearance in relation to global figures.
The Center for Documentation and Information Bolivia (Cedib) estimated that Bolivia lost 350,000 hectares of forests annually by deforestation, legal and illegal, as it was known yesterday [03/21/2016] in a study that reported the private entity, based in Cochabamba.
WORLD AVERAGE
With approximately 320 cubic meters per person per year, the rate per capita deforestation in Bolivia is one of the highest in the world. It represents 20 times more than the world average. Cedib alerts that, at this rate, Bolivia’s forests will disappear by 2100.
COVER
Bolivia has a large forest cover, covering more than half the national territory. It is the fourth country with the largest area of forest in Latin America and the Caribbean. However, this situation is gradually changing for the increased rate of deforestation, said Cedib.
WATER SOURCES
With the disappearance of forest cover, the country also lost a number of ecosystem services, such as protection of water sources, climate regulation, which occurs with the purification of the weather, which means purification of air.
Furthermore, forests are a source of food and medicine for local communities.
“Deforestation (deforestation or forest clearing) means the complete elimination of permanent or temporary nature of forests and their replacement by non-forest land uses.
MAIN CAUSE
In Bolivia, the main cause of deforestation is the expansion of the agricultural frontier, ie enabling land for agricultural activities, which has essentially given for the production of monocultures, that by making irresponsible land use lead to its degradation.
ON THE RISE
Until 20 years ago, Bolivia maintained a moderate rate of deforestation; however, this has been declining alarmingly since 1990, mainly soybean production in the northern and eastern part of the department of Santa Cruz.
Currently, there is an average loss of approximately 350,000 hectares of forest, per year, with the accumulated history of nearly 8 million hectares, of which more than three million have occurred in the last decade.
ILLEGAL CLEARING
82 percent of deforestation is generated in the department of Santa Cruz and 80 percent of the forests have been deforested illegally, according to the Authority of Supervision and Control of Forests and Land (ABT).
Kudos to CEDIB! Although, it is very unlikely that current ochlocracy in government will do NOTHING about this pressing issue!
Bolivian Thoughts 