The new
forest regime recently implemented in Bolivia had positive impacts on the aspects related
to the conservation and preservation of the forest resources in the country. The major
result achieved was the effective adoption of sustainable forest management.
Nevertheless, to the
contrary to what was expected, the new forest regime brought negative consequences to the
productive activity, and inevitably, to the country. Such negative consequences are
represented by the reduction in production, the reduction in exports and an increase in
the import of forest products. This has caused an increase in the debt level of the forest
industry, further reducing the production capacity and employment, amongst others.
The negative impacts of the
new forest regime, as well as the opening up of the Bolivian economy in the last few
years, were no doubt important components in the reduction of the competitiveness of the
forestry sector.
The reduced competitiveness
of the forestry sector reflects the urgent need to implement actions on the part of the
public and private sectors, allowing Bolivia to compete on the international market in the
future.
The establishment of conditions so that the
Bolivian forestry sector reaches the international levels of competitiveness is the basis
for the development strategies being outlined in this document.
3.1 –
CONTEMPLATED OBJETIVES AND PLAYERS
The strategic plan gives a
direction to the Bolivian private forestry sector over the short, medium and long-term.
The objective of the strategic plan is to establish the necessary conditions to implement
a sectorial development model, allowing its return to growth and the achievement of
international levels of competitiveness, using as a base the existing forest potential and
the existing capacity of transforming the forest potential into goods and services based
on the principles of sustainability, considering the equilibrium between the economic,
social and environmental aspects.
In this context, the
strategic plan here proposed will help Government of Bolivia to establish a policy for the
development of forestry sector.
In order to guarantee that
the international levels of competitiveness and the principles of sustainability be
achieved, the strategic plan takes into consideration the different stakeholders:
- Public sector;
- Private sectors;
- Other national and international
organizations.
3.2 – PREMISES
USED
The basic premises
considered as fundamental for the implementation of the strategic plan are the following:
- Premise 1
: The Government is
interested in making the economy more dynamic and the forestry sector is a starting point;
- Premise 2
: The private sector is
fully committed and will change and invest to gain competitiveness;
- Premise 3
: The international
community is interested in the sustainability of the Bolivian forestry sector.
The fulfillment of these
three premises is considered as a basis for the implementation of the strategic plan here
proposed.
3.3 – CONDITIONS
MAIN CONDITIONS
The strategic plan must
take into consideration the basic condition that the Bolivian forestry sector has to be
attractive. Exposed to the stimuli of international trade, the forestry sector has to
be capable of constituting an environment full of opportunities, attracting investments.
Currently, the capacity to
attract investments by the Bolivian forestry sector is weak as a function of its low
competitiveness. The competitiveness of the forestry sector is a preponderant factor for
its economic and environmental sustainability, and to generate social benefits of interest
for the community.
No investor, particularly
foreign, has any interest in investing in a country that is not competitive and has no
judicial security, in spite of the availability of forest resources.
OTHERS
CONDITIONS
FORESTRY RESOURCES
The sustained potential of
Bolivian forest resources is in the order of 20 million m3/year. This is an
important facts in facilitating the development of the different types of forestry
industry, provide that access to the resources is guaranteed.
The existing forest
resources are presently mostly used for solid wood products (sawnwood, veneers and value
added products). The large diversity of forest resources (species) partially limits the
use of this potential for the production of pulp and reconstituted products
(particleboard, MDF, hardboard, OSB and others).
Nevertheless over the
long-term, a program to increase the area of plantation forests in Bolivia can create
conditions for the development of the pulp and reconstituted product industries, as well
as to support the solid wood industry.
MARKET
The Bolivian domestic
market for forest products is very limited. It is not large enough to sustain the
development of the forestry sector.
As a result, Bolivian
forest industry must be competitive in the regional market (South America) and mainly, the
international market. These markets form the main basis to sustain the future generation
of income.
Thus, the regional and
international market should be a priority, at least in the short-term, as the demand in
these markets is ample enough, and growing, for solid wood products from tropical forests.
DEVELOPMENT MODEL -
CLUSTER
The proposed development
model for the Bolivian forestry sector is based on a cluster (see figure 11). The cluster
starts from the existence of forest resources (native and/or planted) that makes the
production of wood for various uses possible, such as solid wood products (sawnwood and
veneers), reconstituted products (panels and pulp) and valued added products (furniture,
paper, etc.).
In Bolivia, forest production is
concentrated in the concession given to private companies, ASL’s, and TCO’s and
private property. There are the basic elements for the creation of clusters, and
will support industrial operations.
Particularly,
the ASL’s and TCO’s exercise a strong social and economic contribution to the
country. The cluster can definitely integrate the peasant and indigenous
communities with a productive sector.
The cluster will have an important
multiplier effect (generation of income, taxes, foreign exchange, jobs, etc.) providing
socio-economic development, as long as the sustainability of the model is respected. The
existence of raw material, and goods and service providers facilitates the operation of
the forest, industrial and commercial activities of Bolivian companies, improving their
competitiveness. |
Visualizar
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The existence of a cluster allows
the forest companies to better concentrate on what they do best, that is, produce and sell
more. The Bolivian timber industry, because of the non-existence of a cluster or
because of cultural problems, tends to carry out activities that should be sub-contracted.
Overall, this fact leads to a loss of competitiveness. |
