Working Landscape Bolivia

The landscape of the Guarayos Indigenous Territory (GIT) is located to the northwest of the department of Santa Cruz, within the province of Guarayos, and overlaps with the municipalities of El Puente, Ascensión de Guarayos and Urubichá. The landscape is located within the Blanco River basin. According to data from the National Institute of Statistics (up to the year 2012), Guarayos province has 50,131 inhabitants. The area is vulnerable to projected changes of the local climate, such as the increase in annual average temperatures and a reduction of annual precipitation. This will result in an extension of the dry season and a higher probability of droughts, increasing the risk of forest fires. The rate of deforestation has been increasing, due to expansion of large-scale sorghum, soybean, and cattle farms. These large-scale ‘agro-industrial’ producers have access to technology and financing to face climate variability. Small-scale producers of corn and other products on which local food security depends, are more vulnerable to climate change. Education levels are not optimal, access to financing is low and differentiated, living conditions are poor, and there is a lack of public investments in disaster prevention. We envision Guarayos as a model for a well-governed climate-smart indigenous territory with national government recognition. The model is identified as a main strategy in Bolivia´s NDC. Indigenous leaders govern the territory in an inclusive, transparent and democratic manner in close collaboration with municipalities, governors and national government institutions. Integrated land and forest management practices, that combine traditional Guarayo values, knowledge and beliefs with scientific knowhow, allow for sustainable food production and income generation. Men, women and young people actively participate in the decision-making processes, and opportunities exist for the pursuit of their own vision of development considering cultural, gender and generational points of view. Inclusive and transparent business relations between indigenous communities and forest companies have been developed based on trust and just prices. Local people participate in the development and application of territorial land- and forest-use planning and monitoring, and the development of regulations to limit the possibility to convert forested lands for other purposes than small-scale climate smart agriculture.