Fires and clearings have the path paved by laws, the conversation concluded

“Currently there is not a single hectare that cannot be legally deforested, because if it is illegal, it is legalized. That is to say, it does not matter whether it is legal or not,” said Javier Coimbra, from the Foundation for the Conservation of the Chiquitano Dry Forest (FCBC), as part of his intervention in the discussion on fires, organized in alliance between EL DEBER, the Center Bolivian American (CBA), and the research platform for the Connected Americas.

Along with Coimbra, Gonzalo Colque, researcher at the Tierra Foundation, was also a panelist; Huáscar Bustillos, biologist; and Román Vitrón, environmental defender of the Curichi Las Garzas Municipal Natural Reserve.

Clearing occupied a good part of the analysis of the actors, due to its close relationship with fires, since it is the plant waste from deforestation that burns, and then, when there is a lack of control, it causes devastation.

Colque stressed that, apart from the law that is made more flexible with a regulatory architecture, what has happened is that each time an area is created that the authorities do not control, and the rights to use the forest, clearing and burning are authorized, giving greater facilities to those who ask to prey on natural resources, he said.

“Before, property title was required, today there is only a type of sworn declaration, and another way is through intercultural communities. There are about 1,500 in Santa Cruz alone, benefiting from one million hectares of public lands, and 90% of these communities do not live there,” Colque explained.

For his part, Javier Coimbra stressed that “the mother of the lamb of all laws” has to do with compliance with the Social Economic Function (FES for private properties) and the Social Function (FS for communities).

“In Bolivia, it is very cheap to cause enormously expensive damage. In the country, it is not the land that is distributed, but the forest,” he stated, alluding to the practice of deforestation as an obligation to maintain ownership rights.
“There is a deliberate policy of removing forest value because trees do not cast votes, before at least there were legal locks. The INRA only recognizes crops or cows,” he questioned, adding that another serious problem has to do with the rural real estate business, which causes ‘bare’ land to be worth more than that with forest cover.

For Huáscar Bustillos, we will never know how much was lost because the damage in the Amazon is not the same as in Chiquitania and other ecosystems, but he also recalled that almost nothing is said about pollinators. From 2019 to 2024, 35.2 million hectares were lost, while the department of Santa Cruz has 36 million,” he said to show the magnitude of the devastation.

Román Vitrón shared the bitter experience of going through the judicial system to do justice to the forest, not to mention the intimidation when defending not only Las Garzas, but also Amboró Park and Choré.

He pointed out that there is a breach of duties on the part of the authorities. “The Bolivian State is failing,” he said.
Cecilia Durán, from the CBA, highlighted the alliance with EL DEBER that dates back many years, and that is in line with the spirit of that institution. “These scenarios (conversation) help us to see crucial issues such as the environment so that these burnings are not repeated,” he said.

TWO REPORTS
In alliance with Connectas, EL DEBER recently presented two reports, under the phrase Impune Fire, about the legal architecture that facilitates fires, but also about impunity for the guilty, since between 2019 and 2024, only 9 sentences were recorded, a low figure in relation to the millions of hectares burned.

BOLIVIAN AMERICAN CENTER
He made the discussion possible, which was attended by representatives of professional associations, legislators, environmentalists and civil society in general.