Land Index

The political structures of many Latin American countries have shifted towards a system that allows for democratization and decentralization of responsibilities, away from highly centralized states.

The two main reasons for this trend are:

1. the struggle against dictatorship, which made democratization a national priority
   
   
2. potential increases in efficiency and savings by downloading responsibilities to local governments.

As in many Latin American countries, Bolivia has endorsed decentralization of power and resources in the belief that it can strengthen democratic participation and improve the quality and coverage of local public services. The Law of Administrative Decentralization (Ley 1654) is designed to prevent complete turnover in the central government staff, which would have otherwise occurred with every change in administration. This allows for continuity in projects and ensures that qualified personnel are involved with the planning and development process for the community. Through the Law of Popular Participation,“watch dog" agencies (Consejos de Vigilancia) are established at the municipal levels to ensure that resources are properly allocated according to the needs of the community.

The Federal Government of Bolivia implemented Ley 1551 (Participacion Popular) in an attempt to democratize the decision-making process. The objectives of this law are to:

1. create a more democratic and accountable local government
2. create a more cost-efficient delivery of service at the municipal level

Decentralization of financial resources and the distribution of new responsibilities to the Bolivian municipalities are essential steps to attaining these objectives.

1. Municipalities automatically receive 20% of all significant national taxes to be distributed on a per capita basis and used for public services.

2. The disbursement of these funds is contingent upon the acceptance of a locally designed municipal development plan by Central Government authorities and is subject to scrutiny of local watchdog committees.

3. The policy reform has a great deal of popular support as community organizations are key factors in the process of identifying and prioritizing public investments and are in charge of proposing, controlling and supervising local investment projects in the areas of education, health, basic sanitation, sports, local roads and urban and rural development.

The successful implementation of Participacion Popular in Bolivia is dependent on the voluntary work at both the local community level and the municipality level. Progress made in the implementation of Participacion Popular has been accompanied by many challenges. One of the major problems facing municipalities is that the lists of demands for capital works exceeds the amount of resources available. Part of the problem is related to the fact that the resources are calculated on a per capita basis from the 1992 National Census. Since then however, peri-urban growth rate in cities such as Cochabamba has been 7%, which has distributional implications on the amount of resources the districts should receive.

As of 1993, 60% of Bolivia's population lived in urban areas, which are growing rapidly leading to increased pressure on already limited service delivery systems. In Cochabamba only 53% of the households have access to piped water and 40% of households lack sanitation services. High income dwellings along the periphery of the city however, are fully serviced as the costs of these services are paid for by the individuals.

At the level of the community organizations, there is a clear lack of experience in directing meetings, organizing discussions and reaching a consensus. These are skills that need to be developed but training and capacity building processes are extremely time consuming. At the moment, district plans are designed without reference to a master plan or document which rationalizes the various visions of the future expressed within each district. A framework to overcome the fragmentation between district level issues and broader municipality-wide issues does not exist in Cochabamba.

Urban Development Strategies for the entire municipality were developed in 1995 with public participation. The existence of this set of strategies should facilitate the articulation of short-term demands and sustainable development at the district level. Unfortunately, these strategies do not contain specific guidelines around which to orient urban growth.

The lack of consistency between district-level and municipal plans as a whole is most evident in the environmental sphere. Cochabamba, in particular, suffers from severe problems of water shortage and contamination because of the lack of fresh water sources beyond that of a single river that flows though the valley. Complex issues such as general water and air pollution require careful consideration and an integrated and systematic approach to be successfully implemented at the regional level.

The urban planning department in Cochabamba consists of 8 planners and it is limited in technology, space, funding and resources. There is clearly a need for additional staff and expertise. However, there is a high level of communication and cooperation among the units in charge of planning and other planning related areas such as roads, transportation, storm water and information systems although cooperation with the new environmental department has not yet been developed.

The municipality also lacks information systems to monitor the state of the environmental quality in the city. This information is necessary to develop planning processes that adequately integrate environmental and human health considerations.

The lack of transparent and reliable local sources of revenue imply that large cities such as Cochabamba, will only be able to implement a fraction of the public improvements and projects identified as important by community organizations.