Building resilience to climate change through indigenous knowledge: The case of Bolivia

The document examines how Bolivia's indigenous populations use traditional knowledge for weather forecasting and resource management to adapt to climate change, while highlighting the risks of this knowledge disappearing. It assesses the Law of Mother Earth as a tool for protecting natural resources but notes its lack of enforcement mechanisms. The brief recommends fostering partnerships between scientists and indigenous knowledge holders to improve adaptive strategies and calls for increased indigenous participation in national and international climate policy.

• Climate change in Bolivia is manifesting as higher temperatures, glacial melt, and extreme weather events. Specifically, the Zongo Glacier has lost almost all of its surface area, threatening the drinking water supply for La Paz and El Alto and irrigation for Andean farmers.
• Bolivia's Law of Mother Earth (Ley de Derechos de la Madre Tierra) grants nature the same rights as humans and promotes the concept of 'living well' (harmony with nature), but it lacks enforcement mechanisms and does not provide indigenous people with legal standing to protest government projects that destroy natural resources.
• Collaborations between scientists and indigenous knowledge holders can enhance adaptation plans. An example includes a process where researchers and Andean farmers combined household surveys and meteorological data with global climate models to create mitigation and adaptation strategies.

APA

D'Angelis, K. (2013). Building resilience to climate change through indigenous knowledge: The case of Bolivia. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Bolivia_InsideStory.pdf

Chicago

D'Angelis, Kate. Building resilience to climate change through indigenous knowledge: The case of Bolivia. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2013. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Bolivia_InsideStory.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=D'Angelis |first1=Kate |title=Building resilience to climate change through indigenous knowledge: The case of Bolivia |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=March 2013 |url=http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Bolivia_InsideStory.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dangelis2013building, author = {D'Angelis, Kate}, title = {{Building resilience to climate change through indigenous knowledge: The case of Bolivia}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2013}, month = mar, url = {http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Bolivia_InsideStory.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }