Bolivia to eradicate coca crops in protected areas

La Paz, Jan 13 (Prensa Latina) The Joint Task Force (FCT) eradicated in 2023 some 10,302 hectares of illegal coca crops, and is preparing its total eradication in Bolivia's protected areas, an official source said.

January 13, 2024
01:00

Coca cultivation in protected areas is an issue that worries us, as well as many sectors of the population, (…) we will take it very seriously.

We have the commitment that by 2024 there will not be a single coca leaf in protected areas,’ Minister of Government Eduardo del Castillo stated.

He affirmed that Bolivia has 26 protected areas, which represent 16 percent of the national territory, which is why, he added, one of the goals in 2024 is to declare the protected areas free of this crop.

Official reports indicate that in 2023, 3,335 hectares of coca crops in protected areas were eradicated.

There were 709 in the Carrasco National Park, 172 in the Indigenous Territory of Isiboro Secure National Park, 444 in the Amboro National Park and 2,010 in the El Chore Forest Reserve. We have recovered 3,335 hectares of forest that unfortunately would have been cut down to grow coca in unauthorized areas,’ the head of the program noted.

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