Evaluando la Huella de Carbono y la Huella Hídrica de ciudades andinas como una estrategia para promover un desarrollo compatible con el clima: el caso de La Paz, Bolivia

The document details the first carbon and water footprint assessments for the city and municipal government of La Paz, Bolivia, using 2012 as a base year. It identifies the transport sector as the primary source of greenhouse gas emissions and the residential sector as the main contributor to the water footprint. The project led to the creation of a reduction action plan, the inclusion of environmental measures in the 2014 municipal budget, and the implementation of pilot projects such as a waste-to-energy system at the Municipal Zoo and peri-urban organic farming. Key challenges identified include data scarcity, the need for high-level political commitment, and the impact of a polarized political environment.

• La Paz is highly vulnerable to climate change due to its reliance on tropical Andean glaciers for up to 25% of its water used for human consumption, energy generation, and irrigation. This vulnerability is exacerbated by the fact that 48% of the glacier surface in Bolivia's Cordillera Real has disappeared over the last 50 years.
• The 2012 carbon footprint assessment for La Paz revealed that the transport sector is the largest contributor, accounting for 49% of emissions, with gasoline and diesel identified as the primary sources of greenhouse gases.
• The residential sector is the dominant contributor to the city's water footprint at 81%, with the 'grey water footprint' of this sector alone representing 80% of the total water footprint for La Paz.
• Assessments of the municipal government's own footprint identified specific 'critical points' for reduction: two municipal buildings were the top consumers of electricity and gasoline, and the municipal slaughterhouse contributed 80% of the government's total water footprint.
• The project resulted in concrete policy and budgetary actions, including the Mayor's public presentation of 10 commitments to reduce footprints and the allocation of funds in the 2014 municipal budget for a wastewater treatment plant.
• Two pilot projects were prioritized to demonstrate climate-compatible development: a closed-circuit system at the Municipal Zoo using animal waste and wastewater to produce thermal energy and organic fertilizer, and a peri-urban organic farming and waste management project in the Kenanipata neighborhood involving approximately 100 families.

APA

Rodríguez, M. (2014). Evaluando la Huella de Carbono y la Huella Hídrica de ciudades andinas como una estrategia para promover un desarrollo compatible con el clima: el caso de La Paz, Bolivia. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/LAPAZ-InsideStory-ES.pdf

Chicago

Rodríguez, Miguel. Evaluando la Huella de Carbono y la Huella Hídrica de ciudades andinas como una estrategia para promover un desarrollo compatible con el clima: el caso de La Paz, Bolivia. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2014. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/LAPAZ-InsideStory-ES.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Rodríguez |first1=Miguel |title=Evaluando la Huella de Carbono y la Huella Hídrica de ciudades andinas como una estrategia para promover un desarrollo compatible con el clima: el caso de La Paz, Bolivia |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=November 2014 |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/LAPAZ-InsideStory-ES.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rodrguez2014evaluando, author = {Rodríguez, Miguel}, title = {{Evaluando la Huella de Carbono y la Huella Hídrica de ciudades andinas como una estrategia para promover un desarrollo compatible con el clima: el caso de La Paz, Bolivia}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2014}, month = nov, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/LAPAZ-InsideStory-ES.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }