INNOVATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN CITIES OF THE SOUTH

In our opinion, the most interesting issue in sustainable development in cities is the "Participation Law" due to direct impact on the population of Bolivia, both rural and urban.

Even if the law could be considered in some aspects as not too inventive, because certain conditions already exists in other countries, in its hole context, and specially the participation and recognition of root organizations, the significance is extremely important for the development of Bolivian cities, in a territorial integration process. This process is new in Bolivia and is lacking in many other countries of Latin America.

The three categories of innovation are touched by the participation process. In a brief descriptions one can point out the following:

Public policy

Before the Participation Law was enforced, urban development was concentrated in the nine department city capitals, from which three centralized more than 80% of public investment.

Today 312 cities have been recognized as municipalities, that includes constructed areas and rural areas within the boundaries of the former provincial section (seccion de provincia).

Each municipality receives from the state a certain amount of funds from government revenues, according to the number of inhabitants registered in the last census.

In this frame, municipalities have acquired new obligations in the fields of education, health, irrigation, roads, culture and sports. Consequently, Municipalities have turned into one of the most important sustainable development axis of the country.

Technology and technical fixes

Participation Law, has been complemented with other legal regulations like the Municipal Law and a series of decrees and bylaws.

This regulations allow all urban centers of the country to have better access to public basic services with an adequate quality.

Communication has, by large, become the most efficient service. Today it is possible to communicate with any part of the world from every Bolivian city. This was impossible only ten years ago.

Other services need more time, than six years, to show its effects, but there is a firm conviction that the results will be positive if the political willingness continues to support the municipal process.

Participation and decision-making

Participation Law, among its determinations, obliges the Municipalities to elaborate a "Municipal Development Plan" and five "Annual Operative Plans". This requirement is compulsory to have access to the government funds.

These plans have to be elaborated in a participation process together with all the community organization representatives.

For this matter, the law recognizes all community organizations both rural and urban. The organizations, are called OTB's (Organizaciones Territoriales de Base), which are represented by Vigilance Councils - CV's (Consejo de Vigilancia) that act as social control.

The access to public services depends currently on OTB's, as a mechanism for decisions - making.

This last category has been chosen for further discussions, as the most important innovation in Bolivia.

Concerning the questions, we would like to point out some aspects that we consider important to be included in the analysis of the innovations, in the case of Bolivia:

Environmentally sustainable technologies are not used mainly because there is not enough information on the subject
Environmentally sustainable approaches are not widely promoted because of institutional inertia, particularly in the last two years. Participation Law does provide the possibility of such an approach in the district level.
Democratization and globalization will influence the adoption of environmentally sustainable technologies and cultural prejudice might reject them.
Innovations might be successfully as long as they don't increase costs.

ESF/N-AERUS: International workshop - Geneva, Palais des Nations - May 3-6, 2000

N-AERUS: Network-Association of European Researchers on Urbanisation in the South
http://www.naerus.net