The socio-economic impact of extreme precipitation and flooding on forest livelihoods: evidence from the Bolivian Amazon

Abstract

In early 2014, unprecedentedly heavy rainfall led to a flood in northern lowland Bolivia affecting the livelihoods of thousands of people relying on ecosystem services and climate sensitive sectors for their daily livelihood. Based on a case study of 50 households from indigenous forest communities living in the TCO Tacana I, ex-ante and ex-post household data were collected to obtain insights into the economic performance, livelihood strategy changes and role of forest products in the direct aftermath of the extreme weather event. A negative impact on natural resource dependent livelihood strategies was found as an immediate consequence. However, most households had recovered just one year later. There was no increase in the use of forest products to mitigate immediate income shortages. A typical high contribution of forest products to household income from before the flood continued afterwards. This article contributes to understanding of livelihood-based efforts of people living in tropical lowland forests to adapt to weather extremes.