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Urban
Land Use in Bolivia
Decentralization in Bolivia. |
![Urban Land Use](../../images/icons/land.gif)
Land Index
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Introduction:
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:
- the struggle against dictatorship, which
made democratization a national priority
- potential increases in efficiency and
savings by downloading responsibilities to local governments.
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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.
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Key
Elements of Participacion Popular:
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.
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Implementation
of Participacion Popular:
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.
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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.
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There are several challenges to the effective
implementation of the Participacion Popular in Cochabamba.
While it is true that very substantial district plans for
3 of Cochabamba's districts were prepared in a manner consistent
with the Ley, the municipality still needs to develop district
plans for the remaining 10 districts to have a complete plan
for the municipality. Although the first three plans incorporate
long-term objectives and develop strategies at the district
level, the extent to which they are articulated within a broader
urban development strategy at the municipal level remains
uncertain and is not addressed by any of the current documentation
available. Finally, the amount of resources transferred to
the municipality is far less than the amount needed to fulfill
the priority demands in all 13 districts in Cochabamba. |
Urban
Development Strategies at the District Level:
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.
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![Click for larger image](ULUsmall/small10.jpg)
![Click for larger image](ULUsmall/small22.jpg)
![Click for larger image](ULUsmall/small8.jpg)
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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.
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