Living Land

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Image: Helle Ager Henriksen

Bolivia’s rich biodiversity is threatened by deforestation and climate change — luckily, the Bolivian Government has taken measures to stop both

made for agriculture and this creates a continuous need

to expand the area, therefore also increasing deforesta-

tion. Luckily various projects are addressing the issues and

promoting sustainable solutions. One of these projects is

fruit production in San Juan, supported by Danida, where

already cleared land and degraded soil is used for growing

citrus fruits, pineapples and beans. This project has various

advantages. Firstly, already cleared land, unfit for further

production of e.g. yucca, is used for production purposes

instead of being left unfertile. Secondly, the combination

of growing beans, pineapples and citrus fruits provides a

continuous income to the local community both on a short-

term and a long-term basis. The citrus fruits need 5-10 years

to produce a profit, and therefore the local society needs

the income of the yearly harvest of pineapples to make a

living. Additionally, the leguminous plant like beans helps

produce ammonium-ion that brings nutrition to the other-

wise unfertile soil. Altogether, the combination of beans,

citrus fruits and pineapples make sure that the community

does not need to expand its areas of agriculture and thereby

does not contribute to further deforestation. And thirdly, if

left fallow, the soil will rapidly be covered with grass increas-

ing the risks of uncontrollable fires during the dry season

(June to October). The burning of grass easily and frequently

leads to uncontrollable forest fires which result in bigger

areas of deforestation and the burning down of villages.

Furthermore, in order to reduce the risks of forest and field

fires, the local communities are working on constructing

firebreaks consisting of areas of less flammable vegetation

in between the fields and the forest. This work is undertaken

in cooperation with local universities putting the research of

the students into practice in combination with the year long

experience of the local farmers. Hence, alternative produc-

tion of citrus fruits and pineapples in San Juan is a way to

reduce the risks, secure economic stability for the local

community and contribute to the reduction in deforestation.

In Bolivia, the fight against deforestation and other

threats to the environment goes on. With the juridi-

cal acknowledgement of the rights of Mother Earth, the

Bolivian Government has taken a big step against the

exploitation of nature. However, with about 45 per cent of

the country’s population still living in poverty according

to the World Bank, the dilemma between respecting nature

and make use of it in a sustainable way, or making fast

and easy income using nature’s resources unsustainably,

continues both on a national and a private level.

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