Bolivia flagEnvironment & Sustainability Guide

Air quality, green spaces, and environmental policies in Bolivia

Bolivia faces significant environmental challenges including rising greenhouse gas emissions driven by land-use changes and agriculture, increasing extreme weather events like droughts, floods, and wildfires, and high climate vulnerability. Despite this, the country has submitted ambitious NDCs prioritizing adaptation, forest protection, and renewable energy transitions, though emissions continue to rise at 2.15% annually.

Air Quality Index

Moderate
6.0/10
Stable trend

Air quality in Bolivia is stable per database trends, but wildfires in 2024 reached critical levels, producing massive smoke plumes and triggering orange alerts, especially in Santa Cruz with over 30,000 hotspots. Industrial and agricultural activities contribute to pollution.

Water Quality

Moderate
5.5/10

Water quality is challenged by extreme weather; droughts affected over 2 million people in 2023, while 2024 floods in Cobija contaminated supplies for 430,000. Access to safe water is critical during these events, with calls for better infrastructure.

Prolonged droughts and floods exacerbate contamination risks, impacting safe drinking water access in affected regions.

Recycling System

Recycling infrastructure data unavailable in database. Bolivia's third NDC includes circular waste management targets for the first time, aiming for improved waste handling as part of sustainability efforts.

Green Spaces

Bolivia emphasizes forest protection in its NDC, viewing forests as guardians of life and bioeconomy engines. Land-use changes drive high emissions, with historical CO2 from LULUCF dominating impacts.

Forest Coverage: 50.0%
National Parks: 22
Extensive protected areas support biodiversity, but deforestation from agriculture threatens coverage.

Environmental Policies

Bolivia's third NDC (2025) sets sectoral targets to 2035, prioritizing adaptation with energy measures like 50% LED public lighting, electric transport, 80% fossil fuel reduction in isolated systems, and green hydrogen. Emphasizes Vivir Bien and just transition.

Key Policies:
  • Third NDC 2025
  • Forest Sector Strengthening
  • Energy Transition Targets
Renewable Energy: Scale up electric public transport, green hydrogen plants, reduce fossil fuels by 80% in isolated systems.

Natural Disaster Risk

HIGH

Bolivia experiences frequent floods, droughts, wildfires; 2023 saw worst drought in history affecting 2M people, 2024 floods killed 50+ and affected 430k, August 2024 wildfires hit critical levels with 35k hotspots.

droughtsfloodswildfires
Climate Change Impacts: Frequency and intensity of droughts increasing in highlands/plains; 2023 longest dry period due to high temperatures, El Niño, climate crisis. Floods contrast decreasing annual rainfall trends. Temperature rise and altered precipitation patterns exacerbate events; emissions up 2.15% annually, per capita extremely high at >11t CO2eq.

Sustainability Initiatives

Renewable Energy

Third NDC targets 50% LED public lighting, electric public transport scaling, 80% fossil fuel reduction in isolated systems, green hydrogen plants by 2035.

Forest Protection

NDC envisions strengthened forest sector as bioeconomy engine; priorities reducing land-use CO2 emissions which dominate national impact.

Waste Management

First-time inclusion of circular waste management targets in third NDC, with detailed indicators for monitoring.

Wildlife & Nature

Andean CondorVulnerable
Spectacled BearVulnerable
Amazon River DolphinEndangered