Tourism and Eco-Tourism Facilities and Activities in the Tropics of Cochabamba, Bolivia
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PROGRAMMATIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT CONCADE Tourism and Eco-Tourism Facilities and Activities in the Tropics of Cochabamba, Bolivia Contract No.: LAG-I-00-99-00014-00 Task Order #823 Submitted to: USAID/Bolivia Submitted by: Chemonics International Inc. • PA Consulting Group May 14, 2004 ACRONYMS AD Alternative Development ASL Asociaciones Sociales Locales BEO Bureau Environmental Officer CEQ Council on Environmental Quality CFR Code of Federal Regulations CONCADE Counter Narcotics Consolidation of Alternative Development Efforts C-23 Proyecto de Apoyo al Manejo, Conservación y Explotación de los Recursos Forestales en Trópico de Cochabamba, Jatún Sacha, FAO-C-23 CHF CHF International CPA CONCADE Program Area CPTS Center for the Promotion of Sustainable Technologies CTR Chapare Tropical Resort DAA Declaration of Environmental Adequacy DAI Development Alternatives, Inc. DEA Declaration of Environmental Impact DRN Dirección de Recursos Naturales y de Medio Ambiente EA Environmental Assessment EIS Environmental Impact Statement EM Environmental Manifest EO Executive Order FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FDC Farmer Development Fund FIS Social Investment Fund FNDA National Alternative Development Fund FNDR National Regional Development Fund GOB Government of Bolivia IEE Initial Environmental Evaluation ILO International Labour Organization INRA Instituto Nacional de Reforma Agraria LAC Latin America & the Caribbean MEO USAID Mission Environmental Office NEPA National Environmental Policy Act NGO Non-Governmental Organization PEA Programmatic Environmental Assessment PRAEDAC Programa de Apoyo a la Estratégia de Desarrollo Alternativo en el Chapare REA USAID Regional Environmental Advisor SEA Supplemental Environmental Assessment SERNAP Servicio Nacional de Áreas Protegidas TCO Territorios Comunitarios de Origen USAID United States Agency for International Development USC United States Code CONTENTS Acronyms ....................................................................................................................................................... i Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................................ii 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 1 2. Rationale ................................................................................................................................................... 1 3. Purpose and Scope................................................................................................................................... 3 4. Alternatives Considered, Including the Preferred Alternative ................................................................... 4 5. Affected Environment................................................................................................................................ 9 6. Public Consultation and Review ............................................................................................................. 30 7. Environmental Consequences from the Tour Sector.............................................................................. 31 8. Environmental Monitoring and Evaluation .............................................................................................. 45 9. List of Preparers...................................................................................................................................... 47 10. References............................................................................................................................................ 49 ANNEX 1 Environmental Assessment, USAID/Bolivia Special Objective: ................................................. Elimination of Illicit Coca from the Chapare ANNEX 2 Supplementary Environmental Assessment:............................................................................... Alternative Development Efforts in the Tropics of Cochabamba ANNEX 3 Supplemental Environmental Assessment of Livestock, Pasture, and ...................................... Silvopastoral Management in the Chapare ANNEX 4 Volume 4 Case Study of the Hotel Victoria Resort...................................................................... ANNEX 5 Guiding USAID and GOB Regulations and Procedures ............................................................. ANNEX 6 Persons Contacted During the Development of the PEA............................................................ ANNEX 7 Key Findings and Issues Identified in Stakeholder Analysis ....................................................... ANNEX 8 Overarching Recommendations for Tourism in the Chapare...................................................... ANNEX 9 CITES Appendix I Species Possible in the CPA ......................................................................... ANNEX 10 Demographics and Local Political and Social Structure in the Chapare..................................... ANNEX 11 Environmental Review of the Chapare Tropical Resort…………...…………………………… CHEMONICS INTERNATIONAL INC. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In 1998 the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) designed and funded the expanded alternative development program – Counter Narcotics Consolidation of Alternative Development Efforts) or CONCADE. CONCADE provides licit economic opportunities to coca leaf producers in the Tropics of Cochabamba, commonly known as the Chapare. The Chapare has traditionally been the region where most of Bolivia’s illegal coca has been produced (Map 1.1). Through CONCADE, USAID, the Government of Bolivia (GOB), and other governmental and non-governmental organizations, have been implementing a wide range of alternative development (AD) programs, varying from export-oriented agriculture to improving transportation infrastructure. Tourism has been identified as an attractive area for potential investment under the CONCADE program. To assure compliance with agency environmental requirements and strengthen competitiveness of the tourism sector, this programmatic environmental assessment (PEA) was developed to evaluate environmental consequences associated with potential USAID investments in the Chapare tourism sector as a supplement to the original environmental assessment (1998) and subsequent supplemental environmental assessment (2001) previously prepared for CONCADE. This present PEA focuses on tourism activities within the CONCADE Program Area (CPA). It does not seek to repeat the findings of other CONCADE environmental assessments except where their findings are directly related to the tourism sector and related activities. The PEA Team applied methodologies that included public participation through interviews with a wide range of individuals involved in the development of the region (see contact list Annex 6). Extensive sites visits were also carried out. As part of the scope of work for the PEA, guidelines for development of the tourism sector were prepared that draw on the extensive experience of USAID and PEA Team members in other parts of the Latin American region and are included in the present report (see Annex 5). Proposed Action USAID intends to pursue investment in the tourism sector as a component of the Chapare alternative development strategy. Funds will be allocated and dispersed to applicants for investment in existing infrastructure and to assist with the development of tourism itineraries and attractions. Funds will be managed as part of the international CHF grant program and will take the form of small grants (maximum amounts to be determined) to private operators, community- based initiatives, and government and non-government organizations for the development of regional attractions. Prospective recipients include two native tribes, the Yuracaré and the Yuqui, who occupy important indigenous reserves in the north of the CPA. The addition of tourism activities to the CONCADE program is in response to discussions with regional investors and in recognition of the region’s historically important role as a regional recreational and tourism destination. The majority of CONCADE activities have been based on consumptive uses of regional natural resources (agriculture, agroforestry, forest management, infrastructure), the existence of large protected areas (national parks), the region’s location at the foothills of the eastern Andes, and a relatively well-developed infrastructure. These activities PROGRAMMATIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR TOURISM IN THE CONCADE REGION iii CHEMONICS INTERNATIONAL INC. provide a significant opportunity for tourism development, particularly nature-based tourism, with the potential to generate regional employment with relatively small, dedicated land requirements. Pressure on adjacent parklands is severe, with colonists increasingly moving into poorly protected parks in search of land. There is a need in the CPA to promote economic alternatives that will relieve the pressure associated with the demand for the large areas of land required for agricultural activities. Tourism is such an alternative to land-intensive activities and that can offset pressures on adjacent protected lands. Preferred Alternative The PEA examined five alternatives, including the No-action Alternative presented in following table. The Preferred Alternative is Alternative 3: “Small- to medium-scale tourism infrastructure support and development.” This