Bolivia: National Policy for Integrated and Sustainable Forest Management (2008)

Bolivia's National Policy for Integrated Forest Management, published in 2008 by the Ministry of Rural, Agricultural and Environmental Development, establishes strategic guidelines for transforming forest governance through an integrated, sustainable, participatory and territorial approach. Its main objective is to improve the well-being of populations that use and depend on forest resources, particularly lower-income groups, increase the contribution of forests to economic development and promote a more equitable distribution of benefits from forest use while ensuring biodiversity conservation and the maintenance of environmental services. The policy recognizes the rights and organizational structures of Indigenous, peasant and forest-dependent communities and emphasizes community participation in forest resource management. It promotes legal security for forest-use rights, integrated and sustainable forest management, land-use planning and zoning, technical innovation, recognition of traditional knowledge and primary and secondary processing of forest products to generate added value. It also seeks to strengthen public forest institutions, improve coordination across government levels and align forest management with land, watershed, production and rural development policies. Its strategic objectives cover social, economic, political and conservation dimensions, including the protection of forest-based livelihoods, contributions to food security, participation by women and young people, ecosystem conservation and responses to climate-related risks. The policy provides a national strategic framework for forest management and does not specify an end date in the consulted document.