Important conclusions of this study can be made, with both positive and negative impacts of trade instruments over the environment and local livelihoods.
• An important contribution of the Forest Law 1700 and all its regulatory Decrees and technical regulations is the change in the mind set of the players involved in forest activities, towards the sustainable use of forest resources, as a key factor for improving the living conditions of today’s an tomorrow’s generations, while preserving the environment.
• Another benefit of the Forest Law 1700 is that local communities are recognised as key players with the same rights as companies.
• Planning and monitoring tools have being designed for wood extraction, however because they are strictly controlled, NWFP also are permanently monitored and all the use has to be performed under sustainable principles. This is the case of Brazil nut that requires a certificate of origin that guarantees that the product has been harvested from an authorised area, whether is a concession or a communitarian territory.
• All the paper work, that the legal instruments require are costly in time and money since detailed information is required. This is an obstacle for low income players. In some cases they just have the land tenure cleared but cannot access to harvesting permits, limiting the capacity of NWFP to providing economical benefits.
• Despite this difficulty, all the information required by these legal instruments prepare the players to have an international certification such as FSC or organic certification that could increase the value of the products, both in image and access to international markets.
• All the steps necessary for a company or an association of local producers to export can become a barrier since all the legal requirements are targeting formal, medium size and large companies. Small producers some times are not in a legal company form and can not get all the export documents.
• On the other hand the complete structure and requirements of the export instruments make sure that all products coming out from Bolivia comply with international requirements in terms of environmental certifications. This interconnection with the other instruments make possible that the use of natural resources, i.e. NWFP, goes together with
• The sanitary requirements are mostly a limitation when it comes to NWFP for export. The procedure of the sanitary certificates is not easy especially for those cases of non well-known products, as in the case of Caiman skins and meat.
• The list of requirements before having the Certificate can be very long and very difficult to complete. In some other cases, such as Brazil nuts, the Government official certification body, SENASAG, has no appropriate facilities and has to use a private Laboratory.
• SENASAG is a new institution created to support commercial activities of food and natural resources sectors. They are located in the city of Trinidad, Beni; however, due to its limitations, they don’t reach easily local communities located close or in the forest areas. This causes that order to fulfill the requirements to get a sanitary certification, they have to move to the cities where SEBASAG works. This is a barrier that restricts local communities participation in the NWFP business.
• Although not mandatory, certification processes can make a difference between having a market share or being out of business. Whether it is a product/process quality certification, such ISO 9000 or an organic / environmental certification, benefits are evident. In the case of Brazil nuts, organic certification not only allows producers to get to a specific market niche but also gives them premium prices.
• Certification processes are expensive and local communities and small companies can’t have a chance to be certified by themselves. Without Government or other type of support these instruments will represent a barrier.
• However a good experience of a cooperative of small farmers shows that it is possible even for small players. This group of producers reached a Fair trade market of Italy and received 33% over the price compared to international market’s price.
• In this same line, organic market has a growing trend, thus organic certification will, one hand make large companies to produce more and then to employ more people in the forests, and in the other promote the natural production of NWFP, thus protecting the environment.
• Even though CITES and other international agreements have a large list of requirements that have to be complied strictly, makes possible for local communities to receive benefits for the use of certain species without threating the environment.
• In the last 5 years the Government of Bolivia is improving the regulations in order to promote the exports of Brazil nuts and keep the first place in the world wide context. These improvements can be found in the mandatory sanitary certification, required to export this product and that is based in the European requirements on aflatoxins content.
• Due to the international market position, Brazil nuts represent the most important NWFP for Bolivia. The value of the exports of this product represents almost a 50% of the total forest sector exports, for the last 5 years.
• The importance of this “industry” and the international markets have induced many small producers to get organised in local co-operative-type entities to harvest the product, both in concessions (to ASLs) and the own originary territory (TCO).
• So far different efforts to improve all the required steps and paper work is being done. However, these remedies have been applied in a process of improving momentary barriers. This means that the legal framework currently is based in different Supreme Decrees and in some cases only arts of such Decrees remain valid, while other where substituted by new Decrees.
• Bolivia uses and takes advantage of sustainable way caiman yacare and its natural ecosystems, generating economic and social benefits, improving the quality of life of the communities and societies related with the species. Not so long ago, this local livelihoods were not taking part of the national economic activity, and for the first time they can obtain economic resources coming use of this species.
• The Bolivian state, (National and Departmental government) and civil society, articulate efforts, develop analysis and apply regulatory criteria, such as Resolution 147/2002, that regulates sustainable use of Caiman economically-oriented, for the conservation and use of the caiman, helping with it to the sustainable development.
• So far, assuming that the use of yacare as an strategic natural resource, is being done under regulations contained on DS. 24774, there is no reason of endangering the existing population of caiman. However, there still exist the black market for yacare skins, though reducing his influence thanks to strict controls, remains a risk factor.
• Another risk factor is the increasing of deforestation of the surrounding zones of caiman’s habitat, that could affect in this species’ population.
• Another factor of high risk is the contamination of water bodies where caimans lives, as a result of the extractive gold mining. That uses large percentage of mercury.
• The process of use of the caiman is in a stage of transition of an old illegal activity to a sustainable program that looks for the conservation, which generates problems in the administration and control since it still exist illegality levels that will be difficult to effectively control in the short term.
• There is an institutional weakness of the state in its three levels national, departmental and local to administrate the sustainable use of caiman, especially in the control and supervision aspects, that requires to identify accurately technical institutions and define the roles accurately and provide with support.
• It exists satisfaction of the sectors benefited from the process, because, despite the identified problems, this activity has become an employment generator, movement of capital and economic generation of activities in remote and difficult to access places with equal participation in the benefits
• Sustainable use of caiman and other species of wild fauna, appear as a mechanism of consolidation of the ownership rights and can expand the criteria of the economic and social function of land.
• Legal right of use is back to local livelihoods, including farmers, indigenous communities cattle breeders and generated a conservation process in the areas with private and communal proprietors when caiman started to be considered commercial good
• An incoherence between the real distribution of quotas and the results of the technical study due to the weakness and lack of consistency of the technical base study, which is one first aspects that must corrected based on these conclusions.
• The regulation of use of the caiman presents impreciseness and contradictions that make difficult the efficient administration of this resource, thus, modifications, that correct these faults, are to be made.
• There must be a permanent program of education to protect the wild fauna in order to be able to take advantage of these resources in a sustainable way.
• A new methodology for monitoring and quota determination has to be developed with active participation of the stakeholders, since the current methodology is not satisfactory.
• A process of qualification and promotion specialised technical services supply, at local and national levels has to be generated
• Eco-regions have to be used to improve monitoring and administration of the sustainable use of caiman.
• Monitoring areas that have requested the use of the resource, such as the TCOs, farms and communities farmers has to be done.
• Monitoring in the production units, visiting all the water bodies in each selected farm or TCO, characterising them in terms of the vegetation and landscaping or ecological factors, counting caiman individuals and classifying them in categories of size.
