PLAN DIRECTOR DE LA CUENCA ALTA DEL RIO LA PAZ

The 'Plan Director de la Cuenca Alta del Rio La Paz (2021-2025)' is a territorial planning tool developed by the Stockholm Environment Institute for the upper basin of the La Paz River in Bolivia. It establishes a strategic framework for Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) across four municipalities and the departmental government, focusing on climate resilience, water security, and sanitation infrastructure to address severe pollution and hydrological risks.

• The upper basin of the La Paz River covers approximately 1,725 km², with the urban area occupying 149 km² (8.6%) and the rural area occupying 1,576 km² (91.4%).
• The basin's total available water flow is estimated at 14.1 m³/s, with 29.8% contributed by glaciers and 8.5% by springs from the Altiplano region.
• Water quality in urban rivers is critical; the Choqueyapu River shows organic pollution levels (BOD) exceeding 400 mg/l, which is nearly 80 times the Bolivian regulatory limit of 20 mg/l.
• The basin faces significant hydrological risks, with 43% of the urban population located in areas categorized as 'Very High' risk, covering 50.41 km².
• Rural sanitation is severely lacking, with 77% of the surveyed rural population practicing open defecation and only 11% having access to a toilet or latrine at home.
• Climate change projections for 2021-2061 suggest a decrease in precipitation, with the MIROC-ESM model predicting a reduction of over 40% during the dry season.
• The total estimated cost for the implementation of the Plan is 1,555,183,480 Bolivianos (approximately 223.4 million USD).
• The construction of the La Paz Wastewater Treatment Plant (PTAR La Paz) is the most significant environmental project, representing a major portion of the budget and aiming to reduce the organic load in the lower La Paz River by over 50%.
• The Plan identifies 11 Strategic Lines (LE), ranging from climate resilience and water governance to the implementation of sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) and the promotion of a circular economy for waste in Achocalla.
• The basin's water infrastructure is inefficient; irrigation systems lose between 60% and 81% of their water, and the urban drinking water network loses over 30% of produced water annually.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2022). PLAN DIRECTOR DE LA CUENCA ALTA DEL RIO LA PAZ. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/pdc-la-paz-bw.pdf

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. PLAN DIRECTOR DE LA CUENCA ALTA DEL RIO LA PAZ. 2022. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/pdc-la-paz-bw.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=PLAN DIRECTOR DE LA CUENCA ALTA DEL RIO LA PAZ |date=November 2022 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/pdc-la-paz-bw.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2022plan, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{PLAN DIRECTOR DE LA CUENCA ALTA DEL RIO LA PAZ}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2022}, month = nov, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/pdc-la-paz-bw.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }