August 26, 2003 Sergio Rivas Project Manager Alternative Development Strategic Objective Team USAID/Bolivia Dear Mr. Rivas: ACDI/VOCA respectfully submits the final report for the North Yungas Integrated Rural Development Project, Cooperative Agreement Number 511-A-00-01-00099-00. An original and one copy of the report are being submitted to the Mission to you as our Cognizant Technical Officer and Mr. Phillip Tresch as Contracting Officer. For the record we are submitting as Appendix 1 of the final report a copy of the most recent SF-269A and a detailed budget report. This submission documents total project outlays equaling an amount of $666,803, which represents 99.14% of the CA award of $672,545. At this time, ACDI/VOCA does not foresee any reason that additional charges would be incurred. It is believed that all invoices have been received and paid and that the project is ready for the initiation of close-out procedures. ACDI/VOCA is pleased with the various results and goals achieved during the life of project - April 16, 2001 to September 30, 2002. Included in the attached report is a brief summary of each of the small-grant activities funded under this project. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, Charles Cox Regional Vice President Latin America and Caribbean Programs Manager, Worldwide Farmer-to-Farmer and Cooperative Development Programs cc: Mr. Carl Leonard Mr. Barry O'Connor Mr. Glenn Blumhorst Ms. Treena Bishop 50 F Street, N.W. · Suite 1075 · Washington, D.C. 20001 · (202)383-4961 · Fax (202) 783-7204 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In the last quarter (July to September 2002) of the entire reporting period for this agreement (April 2001 to September 2002), ACDI/VOCA continued to support the Vice Ministry of Alternative Development’s (VIMDESALT’s) and USAID/Bolivia’s strategy to eliminate the production of excess and illegal coca in the Yungas through its high-visibility, high-impact, North Yungas Integrated Rural Development Project. Throughout the period ACDI/VOCA worked to complete the few remaining projects that had previously suffered delays due to a variety of circumstances, including late delivery of construction materials, delays by contractors in completing scheduled activities on time and delays by communities and municipalities in providing counterpart support. At the end of the quarter, ACDI/VOCA had completed 100% of the small-grants funded activities, bringing a successful close to the Yungas-based community- grants pilot project. As a result, this effort successfully enabled USAID/Bolivia and the Government of Bolivia (GOB) to lay a solid foundation for larger-scale alternative development efforts in the region. During the final quarter, ACDI/VOCA staff worked diligently to bring closure to the project. Major accomplishments during the period include the following: · Closure to 31 of 31 planned projects in the municipalities of Coroico, Caranavi, Palos Blancos and La Asunta. · Completion of a detailed analysis of the environmental impact created by the small-grant construction activities. · Completion of a socio-economic impact assessment of the project’s activities. · Completion of a technical study of the structural soundness of the Santa Fe Bridge. The study showed that the bridge is structurally stable. · Completion of a technical study of the structural soundness of the teachers’ dormitory in Coroico to determine if a retention wall was needed. The study showed that a retention wall was structurally unnecessary. By the end of September, 2002, all small-grant projects were complete, bringing a close to the North Yungas Integrated Rural Development project. The final status report is provided in Appendix 2. I. BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT Following the Bolivian government’s success in eliminating illegal coca from the Chapare, the GOB has shifted the focus of eradication of illegal coca to the Yungas region. While the amount of illegal coca produced in the Yungas is far less than the amount previously produced in the Chapare, the GOB has decided to eradicate all illegal coca in Bolivia. Moreover, an important additional reason for focusing efforts on the Yungas is that there is growing evidence that in response to successful eradication and interdiction efforts in the Chapare, participants in the illegal drug trade have targeted the Yungas as a potential relocation area. Thus, restricting expanding coca production in existing and new areas of the Yungas is also a high priority of the GOB and its partners. USAID/Bolivia has worked closely with other U.S. government agencies in assisting the GOB in achieving the overall goal of permanently eliminating illegal coca production from Bolivia. In the Yungas, USAID/Bolivia, in coordination with VIMDESALT, has launched a high-impact development program that will advance the goal of eliminating illegal coca from the Yungas. This program has two important goals: 1) to create strong public awareness that the future of the Yungas lies in the development of licit income-earning possibilities rather than a fruitless defense of illegal coca, and, 2) to create incentives for individuals and communities to eliminate excess coca. To support the GOB and USAID/Bolivia in this effort, ACDI/VOCA was assigned to implement high-visibility, high-impact projects in municipalities located in the provinces of North Yungas, Caranavi and South Yungas. By the close of project, ACDI/VOCA, in coordination with VIMDESALT, USAID/Bolivia, municipal governments and local NGOs, had completed 31 small-grant projects in the areas of road maintenance, bridge construction, agricultural production (bio-control), social infrastructure and development of a specialty coffee industry. As part of the same USAID/Bolivia program, U.S. NGO Save the Children/Bolivia was assigned to work in South Yungas (La Asunta), where it implemented seven social infrastructure projects. II. PROJECT ACTIVITIES As part of the USAID/Bolivia funded Yungas Development Initiative (YDI), ACDI/VOCA began implementing high-impact, high-visibility small-grant projects under the North Yungas Integrated Rural Development project in April, 2001. As part of this effort, ACDI/VOCA, in coordination with VIMDESALT and other local entities, was able to implement a total of 31 small-grant projects during the life of project. During the last quarter of the project, ACDI/VOCA focused on finalizing each of the small-grant projects. As part of the closeout procedures, a final technical inspection was conducted by a qualified engineer for each infrastructure project. The purpose of the inspections was to verify that the projects had been constructed in accordance with plans, technical specifications and contract documents, and to identify and complete any remaining tasks. Based on the results of the inspections, ACDI/VOCA worked with both responsible contractors and the communities to finalize all remaining details so that the projects could be inaugurated and delivered to the intended beneficiaries. Additionally, as part of the closeout process, ACDI/VOCA prepared “Fichas Ambientales” for all applicable projects under the North Yungas Integrated Rural Development Project. The Ficha Ambiental is an environmental impact evaluation form developed by the Bolivian Environment Impact Evaluation Directorate (Dirección de Evaluación de Impacto Ambiental.) The Ficha Ambiental includes a description of the project, materials used, wastes generated, disposal methods, and identifies key potential environmental impacts and corresponding mitigation measures. Copies of all Fichas Ambientales prepared for the project are maintained on file at the ACDI/VOCA Bolivia La Paz office. Copies were also provided to USAID/Bolivia. The following is a brief summary of each small-grant project completed under this pilot community-grant program. SMALL-GRANT PROJECTS IMPLEMENTED UNDER THE NORTH YUNGAS INTEGRATED RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT PROJECTS IMPLEMENTED IN COROICO PROJECT: CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSING FOR TEACHERS, FELIX REYES ORTIZ EDUCATIONAL UNIT The municipality of Coroico requested the construction of a teachers’ dormitory in April of 2001. The project was presented in May 2001 and approved in June 2001. Construction of the housing project began in July 2001. The justification for the project was that prior to the construction of the teachers' dormitory in Coroico, the teachers lived in rented houses, apartments or borrowed housing. Under this system, the already economically-challenged parents were expected to share the additional financial burden of contributing to the teachers’ rent payments. As they did not have sufficient resources to adequately support the teachers, feelings of resentment on both parts became significant. The instability due to lack of secured housing resulted in teachers frequently asking to be relocated to other communities. This constant rotation of teachers caused a domino effect of instability in the school system which had an overall negative impact on the students’ educational experience. In May of 2002, after 10 months of construction and significant participation by the community, the teachers’ housing project was completed. In June of 2002 the teachers moved into their new home. Although the housing unit was built to accommodate 26 teachers, with two teachers to a room, only 13 teachers are currently living in the housing complex. This current, lower number allows each of the teachers to have his/her own private room. Fortunately, at the present time, this arrangement is manageable. However, as the demand for teacher housing increases with the growing student population, it will be necessary to return to the shared-room system. In addition to the dormitory rooms, the housing complex includes a shared kitchen, dining room, game room, six bathrooms, a storeroom and a patio. There is also a balcony on each floor allowing teachers to relax in the open air, without having to leave their own home. The construction of the teachers’ housing has had multiple socio-economic impacts, including: § Parents who were previously responsible for paying a share of teacher-housing costs are now free to redirect those resources into more urgent needs or productive activities.