Bolivia entre el Desarrollo Sostenible y la Explotación de la Naturaleza - El marco político y jurídico de los Sistemas Agroforestales como ejemplo para una agricultura sostenible
Abstract
La victoria electoral de Evo Morales en 2005 marcó el inicio de un proyecto social revolucionario. El proceso de transformación incluye el rechazo (por lo menos retóricamente) del paradigma de desarrollo dominante y la promoción de una nueva cosmovisión que se caracteriza por el respeto de la Madre Tierra. La investigación toma el ejemplo de los sistemas agroforestales (SAF) para evaluar cómo es el marco jurídico y político para un uso sostenible de la tierra en Bolivia. Los desafíos en la implementación de sistemas agroforestales y otros métodos de agricultura sostenible en Bolivia son de dos tipos: Por un lado, el análisis de las leyes y documentos políticos señala diversas contradicciones y tensiones entre los programas políticos y la legislación; por otro lado, la investigación empírica en Bolivia muestra una brecha entre el discurso sobre el desarrollo sostenible y las políticas concretas. Actores no gubernamentales admiten que hay algunos proyectos y programas de apoyo a la agricultura sostenible, pero reclaman la falta de estrategias nacionales y planes a largo plazo. Algunos entrevistados explican las contradicciones existentes entre el discurso de la sostenibilidad y las políticas reales con las inconsistencias en la distribución del poder entre los diferentes niveles de gobierno, la ausencia de un consenso sobre el modelo de desarrollo adecuado, la dependencia económica de Bolivia en la extracción de los recursos no renovables (hidrocarburos, minería), y la priorización de ciertos intereses sociales (agroindustria, cocaleros).
The election of Evo Morales in December 2005 marks the beginning of an ambitious and revolutionary social project. The transformation process in Bolivia includes the (rhetorical) rejection of "Western"-dominant development paradigms and the promotion of a new worldview characterized by the respect of "Mother Earth", but the discourse about a life in harmony with nature is not necessarily compatible with the substantial dependency of the Bolivian economy on the extraction of non-renewable resources. The aim of this thesis is to analyse the political and legal framework of sustainable agriculture with the example of agroforestry. The challenges in the implementation of agroforestry are related with two phenomena. On one hand, analysis of laws and policy documents points out on various contradictions and tensions within the political programs and legislation, on the other hand the empirical research in Bolivia shows a gap between the discourse on sustainable development and concrete policies. Nongovernmental actors admit that there are some projects and programs supporting sustainable agriculture, but indicate a lack of national strategies and long term plans. Some of the explanations laid out for the existing contradictions between the discourse on sustainability and political actions taken, include inconsistencies in distribution of power between the different government levels, absence of a consensus on the right development paradigm, substantial dependency of the Bolivian economy on the extraction of non-renewable resources and the prioritization of certain social interests (agro-industry, cocaleros).
The election of Evo Morales in December 2005 marks the beginning of an ambitious and revolutionary social project. The transformation process in Bolivia includes the (rhetorical) rejection of "Western"-dominant development paradigms and the promotion of a new worldview characterized by the respect of "Mother Earth", but the discourse about a life in harmony with nature is not necessarily compatible with the substantial dependency of the Bolivian economy on the extraction of non-renewable resources. The aim of this thesis is to analyse the political and legal framework of sustainable agriculture with the example of agroforestry. The challenges in the implementation of agroforestry are related with two phenomena. On one hand, analysis of laws and policy documents points out on various contradictions and tensions within the political programs and legislation, on the other hand the empirical research in Bolivia shows a gap between the discourse on sustainable development and concrete policies. Nongovernmental actors admit that there are some projects and programs supporting sustainable agriculture, but indicate a lack of national strategies and long term plans. Some of the explanations laid out for the existing contradictions between the discourse on sustainability and political actions taken, include inconsistencies in distribution of power between the different government levels, absence of a consensus on the right development paradigm, substantial dependency of the Bolivian economy on the extraction of non-renewable resources and the prioritization of certain social interests (agro-industry, cocaleros).
Description
Vol. 6, No. 3