NCJ Number
211423
Date Published
June 2005
Length
67 pages
Annotation
This report presents data and commentary on trends in coca cultivation in Bolivia identified in a 2004 survey conducted jointly by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Bolivian Government.
Abstract
Although still well below the peaks in coca cultivation levels reached in the 1990s, the 17-percent increase in coca cultivation in Bolivia between 2003 and 2004 (27,700 hectares) brings the extent of cultivation to the highest since 1998. In the context of current social, economic, and political challenges facing Bolivia, this is a disturbing trend. Another cause for concern is the expansion of coca cultivation into the primary forest, causing irreversible damage within national parks. In order to address this trend in increasing coca cultivation, the Bolivian Government must strengthen its commitment to the reduction of illicit coca cultivation with international support. As in other Andean coca-producing countries, illicit coca cultivation in Bolivia is linked to domestic political issues. When the Government continued its eradication activities in 2004, opposition to it increased. Drug control policies can be effective only when they are accompanied by credible sustainable legal economic options for ex-coca growers, as well as poor indigenous peasants and miners. Bolivia can draw from numerous alternative vocational schemes that have reduced the dependence of rural economies on coca cultivation. The most successful programs combine income generation with the development of social services and infrastructure, including education, healthcare, and sanitation. Access to these schemes should be widened. The UNODC calls on donors and international financial institutions to help Bolivia deliver sustainable development opportunities in those areas where illicit coca crops are being grown. 12 maps and data on coca cultivation, the yield and production of coca leaf, and prices