Forty-six per cent of the 1,419,000 hectares affected by forest fires are forests, which represents significant damage due to the impact on biodiversity. Within this framework, the Government of Santa Cruz reiterated the request to the Plurinational Legislative Assembly (PLA) to repeal Law 741, which extends logging from 5 to 20 hectares without the need for authorization to clear.
Category: Public policy
Information related to political affairs that have an impact on Bolivia’s economic development.
Fires down to 28, but average weekly outbreaks double that of 2019
Although forest fires have dropped by approximately 50 per cent in the last week to 28, the average daily number of hot spots (smaller events) is 135 per cent higher than the average for the same period in 2019 due to climate and human intervention. Although there is a decreasing trend of fires due to the rains that have been falling since last week, the affectation reaches an area of more than 1.8 million hectares nationwide.
Government guarantees financing of two mn dollars for Sucre Cretaceous Park
The Government guaranteed this Friday the financing of 2 million dollars for the first phase of the expansion of the Cretaceous Park, in the city of Sucre. The addition of the Cretaceous Park, which will occupy 2.7 hectares, is financed, in its first phase, by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
Rainfall and operations bring down fires from 60 to 16 in one week
The intense rainfall during the last few days, in addition to the joint operations, managed to reduce the number of active fires in the department of Santa Cruz from 60 to 16 in one week.
Kurt Koenigsfest is the new president of Asoban
The current general manager of Banco Sol, Kurt Koenigsfest, was appointed president of the Association of Private Banks of Bolivia (Asoban) for the 2020-2021 administration. With a vast experience in the financial system, the businessman will replace Marcelo Trigo, who will remain as past president.
Active fires in Bolivia are reduced by 50%
Active forest fires in Bolivia are down by at least 50% from last week. Santa Cruz, with 34 active fires, continues to be the most affected region, followed by Chuquisaca where five fires persist. La Paz and Beni have one. The area affected by the fire exceeds 1.8 million hectares. The Government of Santa Cruz updated the data and mentioned that there are 36 active fires, and seven of these are reactivations.
Bolivia election: Exit polls suggest win for Luis Arce with more than 50%
Exit polls suggest socialist candidate Luis Arce, an ally of former President Evo Morales, is set to win Bolivia's presidential election. Exit polls carried out by the Jubileo research institution gave Luis Arce of the Mas party 53% of the votes, followed by centrist candidate Carlos Mesa of the Citizens' Community alliance with 30.8%. A quick-count by pollsters Ciesmori suggested Mr Arce had won with 52.4%, trailed by Mr Mesa with 31.5%.
Agustín Saavedra Weise appointed as president of Bolivia’s Central Bank
The Minister of Economy and Finance, Branko Marinkovic, today appointed Agustín Saavedra Weise as the new president of the Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB). The new head of the Central Bank was Minister of Foreign Affairs. He held high positions in the private sector, was general manager and chairman of the board of several companies.
More than 1.8 mn has affected by wildfires in La Paz
More than 1.8 million hectares in the Madidi and Apolobamba national parks, in the north of La Paz, are consumed by fires. The Government will use a Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter, that arrived last night in Santa Cruz, to fight the wildfires. The situation is getting worse all across the country, with fires reported in the Guarani communities of Machareti in Chuquisaca, as well as in Tarija's Chaco region and in Iténez Park in Beni.
Fires reach eight departments and burn 1.7 million hectares
Despite the increase in activities aimed at controlling forest fires and the declaration of national disaster, the fire is spreading through eight of the nine departments, affecting 1.7 million hectares. In Santa Cruz, there are cattle at risk. Thirty-three per cent of the fires are in forests, a situation that increases the negative consequences for biodiversity.
