| Abstract: In 1994, the government of Bolivia initiated a far-reaching process of decentralization that greatly strengthened municipal governments, changed the role of departmental governments, and created new opportunities for popular participation in decision-making. Biodiversity conservation was far from the minds of the politicians who led this process. Nevertheless, decentralization has already begun to influence many conservation-related issues, including protected area management, indigenous territorial rights, policies affecting agroforestry and forest management, land-use planning, and road construction. The influence of decentralization on conservation will probably be even greater in the future. This case study analyzes the origins and causes of decentralization in Bolivia, how the process has begun to affect tropical forest management, and the initial impacts of decentralization on the distribution of benefits from these forests. We particularly stress the impact of the Popular Participation Law of 1994, which bolstered municipal governments in general, and the Forestry Law of 1996, which gave municipal governments a key role in forest policy. |
