Bolivia is rich in natural resources. It boasts huge reserves of oil and gas, and the biodiversity of the Amazon rainforest.
However it is also one of the poorest and most unequal countries in South America. Millions of people here live in difficult conditions, struggling to survive.
Indigenous: Although indigenous groups make up a majority of the population they are the ones who are most affected by inequality and poverty.
Amazon: The Bolivian Amazon is one of the most biodiverse regions in the world. Deforestation by loggers, cattle ranchers and large landowners to grow cash crops are a threat to the environment. The problems in the region are not only environmental - there are also high levels of poverty and human rights abuses of indigenous groups.
Glaciers: research shows that Bolivia’s considerable glaciers are melting at an alarming rate because of climate change. In the capital La Paz and neighbouring El Alto more than two million people depend on glaciers for their drinking water.
Our work
Christian Aid works in Bolivia with partner organisations to ensure that poor people are central to the process of change in the country - supporting them in development that is truly sustainable and fairer for all.
Income generation: Partner CIPCA work with communities in the Amazon to help them get official papers for their land and to grow a crop system that provides more food for their families.
It supports communities to grow more cocoa and to unite so that they are able to charge a minimum rate for their crop. This provides them with income and security.
Social movements: In Bolivia, the mobilisation of excluded groups is incredible and can have a global impact.
Our partner Fundacion Solon led an annual campaign on water which led in part to the UN approving a resolution stating that water is a human right for all.
Popular protest, supported by partner CEDLA, led to taxes on oil and gas being raised to 50% (link to other page). The money generated benefits millions of the poorest in the country.
Climate change: Christian Aid supported social movements in Bolivia to raise the issue of climate change up the agenda. Bolivia is now a major participant in the climate change campaign and in international negotiations.
Social movements there hosted a mass mobilisation in October 2009 that filled a stadium with more than 35,000 people.
Further content
What you can do
