Vivir Bien – living well – is a concept that has been prominent in Bolivian politics over the last few years. It sets out the ideological position of living well in harmony with nature and rejects a mass consumption and fossil fuel based economy.
Although Vivir Bien has even been written into the Bolivian constitution with the 2012 Law of the Rights of Mother Earth the country is at a crossroads: what it says and what it does is at an odds. While Bolivia’s leaders propose a harmonious existence, majority of policies are aimed at expanding people’s ability to farm, which leads to the deforestation of around 300,000 hectares of rainforest every single year.
Today, the Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD) came out with an infographic that proposes a two-policy solution that could help Bolivia reconcile its rhetoric with its actions by reducing deforestation while tackling poverty in an equitable way.
The infographic accompanies the release of a simulation game called SimPachamama that is modeled on using extensive real-life data from an Amazonian community. The player is the mayor of an indigenous town and has to balance different policies to achieve maximum wellbeing while reducing deforestation.
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Hats off to Bolivian people and Government. It is a great way to live in harmony with nature and to is being attempted for the whole country. I wish them success. Will the mad mad world follow suit? Cheers, Bala.