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Cases / Law, regulation and treaties · Bolivia · 2019–2024

Bolivia's decree 3973 allowed forest clearing and controlled burns before 2024 fires

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 1 not measured · 1 disputed See the gaps

Decree 3973 permitted forest clearing and 'controlled burning' in Santa Cruz and Beni. Bolivia recorded about 12.86 million hectares of fire in 2024, 8.5 million of them in Santa Cruz, and the forests of those departments are at stake.

What?
Decree 3973 authorised forest clearing and controlled burning in Santa Cruz and Beni, and about 12.86 million hectares of fire were recorded in Bolivia in 2024. Los Tiempos / eju.tv
Where?
Santa Cruz and Beni departments, Bolivia Los Tiempos / eju.tv
When?
Decree 3973 dates from 2019; fires recorded in 2024 Los Tiempos / eju.tv
Who?
Gained
  • Permit holders for forest clearing in Santa Cruz and Beni — authorised to clear forest and burn under decree 3973 Los Tiempos / eju.tv
Lost
  • Forests of Santa Cruz and Beni — about 8.5 million hectares burned in Santa Cruz in 2024 Los Tiempos / eju.tv
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
The decree authorised forest clearing and controlled burning in the two departments. Los Tiempos / eju.tv
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Los Tiempos and eju.tv reported in October 2024 that decree 3973 allowed forest clearing and 'controlled burning' in Santa Cruz and Beni.

The same report said about 12.86 million hectares of fire occurred in Bolivia in 2024, 8.5 million of them in Santa Cruz.

Los Tiempos reported in September 2024 that eight burning-permit laws passed while the 2010 Mother Earth Law was in force, and that 10 to 12.6 million hectares burned in 2024.

WRI and Global Forest Watch reported in May 2025 that Bolivia lost about 1.5 million hectares of tropical primary forest in 2024, within a global total of 6.7 million hectares.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • Disputed Burned-area figures differ between sources: 10 to 12.6 million hectares (Los Tiempos) and 12.86 million hectares (eju.tv).
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not say how much of the 2024 burning came from permitted burns.
    • None on record Economic, health and wildlife costs of the 2024 fires are not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    2. Los Tiempos report on Bolivia's burning-permit laws and 2024 fires
      Los Tiempos (linked via El Mercurio) · 2024-09

    Communities and civil society

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Science and environment

    Hectare (ha)
    A unit of area equal to 10,000 square metres, about 2.5 acres. 100 hectares make one square kilometre.
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