SPECIAL FEATURE
The OPEC Fund & Bolivia
To date, the OPEC Fund has approved 27 loans in the public and private sectors for US$306.4 million in Bolivia. The OPEC Fund has also provided US$1.5 million in nine national grants supporting healthcare, women, education and water infrastructure. Example A US$15 million loan signed in 2009 addressed a key development issue in Bolivia by connecting over 55,000 mostly rural households to the national electricity grid. The project included the construction of a 374 km-long transmission line and the installation of three transmission substations, four distribution substations and 150 km feeder lines.
The Chacaltaya Glacier was once home to the highest ski resort in the world
eroding effects of successive El Niños. Like Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, it was literally evaporating into thin air. “Understanding these phenomena is a priority for Bolivia,” affirms Céspedes Quiroga. “Our top scientists are working on cutting-edge climate modelling along with international partners. From the
meteorological station high up on the mountain and at the nearby research institute they are using Chacaltaya as a model so that we can learn and share the lessons.” According to the World Bank, many of the Andes’ tropical
glaciers are set to disappear by 2030, threatening water supplies for around 80 million people. That will also jeopardize hydropower plants in the foothills of
the mountain range – which Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru rely on for around half their electricity generation.
Factsheet: Bolivia
Covering over a million square kilometers between the Amazon Basin and the Andes Mountains, Bolivia is the largest landlocked country in the Southern Hemisphere. With the world’s largest lithium reserves, estimated at 23 million tonnes by the US Geological Service, the country is also a top ten global producer of various metals and minerals including boron, lead, silver, tungsten and zinc. Bolivia is positioning itself as a key player in the energy transition by sealing international partnerships, recently attracting US$1 billion of investment from a Chinese consortium for industrial complexes in two of its three salt flats. Each complex is expected to produce 25,000 tonnes per year of lithium carbonate – to meet the soaring demand for electric vehicle batteries. The Bolivian government is also boosting investments in homegrown science, technology and innovation with imminent plans to launch a national research fund worth around US$7 million. This fund will be “mission-oriented” in key sectors
including energy, health and climate action. An additional US$7 million is set to finance up to 200 mission-oriented research scholarships for young Bolivian professionals to attend top universities around the world, before returning to Bolivia for guaranteed jobs in public organizations. The Bolivian legislature passed the Rights of Mother Earth Law in 2010 and the Mother Earth Law and Integral Development to Live Well Law in 2012. They are centered on respecting the balance between human life and the natural environment, and prioritizing the rights and knowledge of the country’s majority indigenous population. Accordingly, the government has set up the Plurinational Authority of Mother Earth to oversee the implementation of climate change mitigation and adaptation principles as part of the Ministry of Environment and Water.
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