Indigenous support reversal of forest concessions

FOREST CONCESSIONS • Bolivian indigenous people support return to the State forestal concessions given when Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada was president.

By EUGEN ROXAS

Bolivian President Evo Morales and the army retake land. Photo © The Achacachi Post™ . All rights reserved.

LA PAZ, Bolivia. — Santa Cruz and Pando’s Congressmen Bienvenido Zacu (MAS) and Julio Cortez (Convergencia Nacional) support the demand of CIDOB (Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of Bolivia) to retrun the state forest concessions but before clarifying the legal state of the land.

Bienvenido Zacu said:

"We must see the legal situation of forest enterprises, we can not trample rights of employers or community enterprises,..”

While the opposition congressman, Julio Cortez said that:

"We must do some research on how many concessionary companies are using well and if they are paying the legal taxes”.

According to Article 34 of Forestry Law Nº 1700 passed during the administration of former President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada in July 1996, the expiration of the forest concession and consequent reversal proceeds by any of the following causes: Meeting the deadline. transfer of the concession to third parties without complying with the procedures set out in regulation, revocation of the concession and subsequent reversion to the State if the dealer changes the use of forest land.

Source: ERBOL