City Of Cochabamba Research Articles

Evaluation of agricultural reuse practices and relevant guidelines for the Alba Rancho WWTP (primary and secondary facultative ponds) in Cochabamba, Bolivia

Many cities in developing countries are experiencing high population growth, which is generating chaotic and unplanned development, reducing land areas available for agriculture, and polluting surface and groundwater. Consequently, the reuse of untreated or partially treated wastewater for agricultural irrigation is increasing in arid and semi-arid regions in developing countries. Cochabamba city in Bolivia also has a high population growth. The climatic characteristics and the lack of clean water sources in this city are forcing the agriculture sector to use treated and untreated wastewater for irrigation. We investigated the effluent quality of the Alba Rancho Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in Cochabamba, Bolivia, and the existing effluent reuse practices for irrigation of fodder crops in the surrounding agricultural land (La Mayca area). The plant uses primary and secondary facultative ponds, and does not achieve the required effluent quality (according to Bolivian environmental law) for effluent BOD, COD, TDS and faecal coliforms. This paper also includes a brief comparison of guidelines for wastewater reuse in agriculture from several developing and developed countries, comparing the parameters measured as pollution indicators. It appears that for developed countries, the main concern is the health risk that reuse can cause to the farmers and consumers. For developing countries on the other hand, pollution reduction is currently the major aim in their guidelines and standards.

La Mano Dura and the Violence of Civil Society in Bolivia

Vigilante violence has become a common practice of creating 'security' in the marginal barrios that surround the city of Cochabamba, Bolivia. Surprisingly, this violence and the human rights violations it entails are appearing simultaneously with the expansion of civil society in Bolivia. This apparent contradiction, it is argued here, suggests that analysts must expand their definition of 'civil society' to include violent social groups and actors as well as peaceful ones. This article suggests that a fuller understanding of the nature of civil society in Bolivia and other Latin American countries requires us to broaden our understanding of what civil society includes, and so recognize that some acts originating in civil society may restrict rather than deepen and expand individual rights in neo-liberal democracies.

Delays to treatment and out-of-pocket medical expenditure for tuberculosis patients, in an urban area of South America

Short delays to treatment are important for the control of tuberculosis (TB). National Tuberculosis Programmes provide free diagnosis and treatment for smear-positive patients, so that the patients' out-of-pocket medical expenditure could be almost nil. The factors associated with delays in starting treatment, and the pre-treatment out-of-pocket medical expenditure for TB patients, have now been investigated in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba. Bolivia is the Latin American country with the highest incidence of TB. It is covered by a national TB programme that provides free diagnosis and free treatment for smear-positive patients. Structured interviews with 144 smear-positive patients enrolled in this programme revealed median patient, provider and total delays of 3.6, 6.2 and 12.9 weeks, respectively. The total delays were longer for the female patients than for the male, and for patients who consulted private doctors than for the other patients. When the first healthcare provider was a doctor, the median provider delay was 4.9 weeks in the public sector but 7.2 weeks in the private. The median out-of-pocket medical expenditure per patient, which was U.S.$13.2 overall, was much higher for those who consulted a private doctor than for those who did not (U.S.$21.9 v. U.S.$5.4, respectively; P<0.001). It appears that interventions targeting doctors (in both the private and public sectors) are likely to have a larger impact on the shortening of delays in TB treatment than interventions targeting patients. They could also reduce unnecessary out-of-pocket expenditure.

PERCEIVED INSUFFICIENT MILK AS A BARRIER TO OPTIMAL INFANT FEEDING: EXAMPLES FROM BOLIVIA

In its recently adopted Global Strategy on Infant and Young Child Feeding, the World Health Assembly called for urgent action in addressing the barriers to optimal feeding practices. This paper examines mothers' concerns about milk insufficiency as a major contributor to suboptimal infant feeding decisions, using survey data from peri-urban areas of two Bolivian cities. Mothers in the lowland modernizing city of Santa Cruz were more likely than mothers in the highland traditional city of Cochabamba to express concern about insufficient milk, and also less likely to feed their infants according to international recommendations. Furthermore, perceived milk insufficiency was particularly common among mothers of infants younger than 6 months of age -- an age at which infants are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of breast-feeding cessation and complementary feeding initiation. The paper concludes with policy, programme and research recommendations to address the critical problem of perceived insufficient breast milk.

Collaboration between private pharmacies and national tuberculosis programme: an intervention in Bolivia

Public-private partnerships are felt to be necessary for tuberculosis (TB) control in some developing countries. To evaluate the potential of a collaboration between the National TB Programme (NTP) and private pharmacies in Bolivia, the country with the highest TB incidence in Latin America. We contacted the local Pharmacists' Association in the city of Cochabamba, and designed a two phase intervention. The objectives of the first phase were to decrease the availability of TB drugs in private pharmacies on a voluntary basis, and to improve referral of clients seeking TB drugs to the NTP. A survey of all pharmacies allowed for a before-after comparison with a baseline survey. The objectives of the second phase were to obtain referral of pharmacy clients with chronic cough for TB screening in the NTP. This phase was started in 70 pharmacies and evaluated after 2 months using the referral slips issued by the pharmacists. The proportion of pharmacies selling TB drugs decreased (rifampicin: 23-11.5%; isoniazid: 16-3.1%; P<0.001) and the proportion of pharmacies referring to the NTP clients seeking TB drugs increased (22-58%; P<0.0001). In the second phase, 26 of 70 pharmacies (38%) referred a total of 41 clients for screening in the NTP (i.e. an average of 0.29 clients per pharmacy and per month); 11 of 41 (27%) were screened and three of 11 (27%) diagnosed with smear-positive TB. The first phase of the intervention proved effective in reducing the availability of the main TB drugs in pharmacies, and in improving referral of clients seeking TB drugs. Key factors in this success were not specific to Bolivia, and collaboration between private pharmacies and public services appears possible in that respect. However, collaboration with pharmacies does not seem an efficient way to increase the number of patients screened for TB, and to shorten delays to TB diagnosis and treatment.

The water war: resistance against privatisation of water in Cochabamba, Bolivia

The international consortium “Aguas del Tunari” was granted a concession to supply drinking water and a sewer system to the city of Cochabamba, Bolivia in September 1999. A month and a half later, the No. 2029 Act for the regulation of the water and sanitation sector was passed, containing a set of rules to legitimise such contracts with a strong bias towards privatisation and in addition, including rules that aimed to regulate the use and exploitation of water resources. Both events caused popular reactions and led to mass mobilisation of the population. In urban areas, the protests were sparked by the proposed excessive increases in water rates/tariffs, and in rural communities, there was widespread concern about the effects of the new law on traditional rights and access to water for irrigation and domestic uses. Social conflict erupted in February and April 2000, with several days of intense clashes between the so called “guerreros del agua” (water warriors) and the police. These clashes culminated in the declaration of a national state of siege. Social discontent was so great that the only possible solution was the cancellation of the Contract that had been agreed with the Consorcio Aguas del Tunari and the modification of more than 30 articles of the No. 2029 Act, which would become the new No. 2066 Act. What happened in the “guerra del agua” (water war) in Cochabamba had a strong international impact as an example of resistance against the privatisation of water and of water services, and the start in the country of a process of wider grassroots participation in the formulation of regulations and policies concerning water resources. It is in this context that the Consejo Interinstitucional del Agua or CONIAG (Inter-institutional Water Council) has been recently created, as a forum where government representatives, social organizations, the private sector, academic institutions and municipalities participate with the mission of reaching a consenThe water war: resistance against privatisation of water in Cochabamba, Bolivia

Application of GIS and multicriteria evaluation in locating sustainable boundary between the tunari National Park and Cochabamba City (Bolivia)

AbstractIncreased population growth and urbanization, has caused increase in demand for land around the city of Cochabamba, which has led to encroachment into the National Park and the construction of illegal settlements. This has created a number of problems, some of which are the direct consequences of the new settlements in the ‘Tunari’ foothills. These settlements constitute a threat to the environment and people because of their location in flood risk and aquifer recharge areas. In response to this problem the city authorities are considering relocating the boundary between the National Park and the city. This study has focused on the design and evaluation of alternative locations for a sustainable boundary between the north of ‘Cochabamba City’ and the southern boundary of the ‘Tunari National Park’. In this process, a rational and systematic approach of collaborative‐decision‐making, supported by geographical information systems (GIS) and multicriteria evaluation (MCE) has been employed and evaluated. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Prevalence of infections by hepatitis B, C, D and E viruses in Bolivia

In Bolivia, no studies have been carried out specifically on hepatitis viruses. Thus, their prevalence and circulation patterns are virtually unknown. A seroepidemiologic study was performed from 1992 to 1996 to generate a preliminary idea of the overall prevalence of infection from hepatitis B, C, D, and E viruses (HBV, HCV, HDV, and HEV, respectively) in different Bolivian population groups. Prompted by the data obtained in other areas of Latin America, the study focused on indigenous communities in the Amazon region. In rural areas of the high Andean plateau, HBV infection showed an overall prevalence compatible with medium to low endemicity (11.2%), and no carriers of HCV or HDV antibodies were found. In two high-risk groups in the city of Cochabamba (homeless children and sexual workers), the prevalence of HBV infection was similar (11.6%) and could be considered low by comparison to that of similar population groups in Latin American urban centers. The prevalence of HCV (one positive case, or 0.5%) was similar to that found in similar population groups, although the small number of samples precludes drawing more definite conclusions. As has been noted previously with similar communities in tropical areas of South America, HBV infection is highly endemic in indigenous populations of the Bolivian Amazon (with an overall prevalence of 74.0%), but circulation of HCV has not been detected. It is a well-known fact that HBV is horizontally transmitted and that transmission can take place very early in life, but the mechanisms involved are unknown. By 10 years of age, more than half the population has already had the natural infection that, in approximately 10 more years will have affected virtually the entire population. The very low rate of positivity to HBsAg (1.6%), the absence of viral DNA in samples showing isolated positivity to anti-HBc, and the high prevalence of anti-HBs among individuals who show markers for natural infection (92.4%) suggest vertical transmission plays no role in persistent endemicity. So far, no outbreak of HDV infection has been documented in these communities, but the high endemicity shown by HBV points to the possibility of future outbreaks. Results obtained with tests for the detection of antibodies against HEV suggest that this virus is circulating widely in Bolivia and that it could have caused recent outbreaks in Cochabamba state. Vaccination against HBV in endemic populations is recommended as a short-term measure. Also recommended are actively searching for outbreaks and sporadic cases of hepatitis E in the entire country and performing additional research that will help in assessing the public health consequences of the situation described in this article.

An Emerging Logic of Urban Water Management, Cochabamba, Bolivia

This paper examines the emergence of a new logic of water management in developing cities. We argue that water provision is characterised by two largely disconnected circuits of water supply. Formally organised distribution networks provide a publicly subsidised service to higher-income users, while an informal system of water vendors provides a more expensive supply to marginalised communities. A new style of water management is now challenging the productionist logic that has created and maintained these dual networks. The case study of water privatisation in the city of Cochabamba, Bolivia, illustrates how this emerging logic is reconfiguring the management of urban water networks with a shift from large supply options towards greater consideration of user needs and extension of the network to unconnected communities. The productionist logic is in a period of profound transition as efforts are being made to mesh together more effectively the formal and informal networks. While this process is highly contested, many of the central assumptions of the productionist logic are challenged and new opportunities for a more socially inclusionary and environmentally sensitive style of water management are emerging.

Performing National Culture in a Bolivian Migrant Community

Folklorization of traditional Andean culture by a universalizing nation-state appropriates indigenous ceremony for political ends, but at same time creates spaces within which indigenous people can assert their own claims to be true custodians of national cultural patrimony. In a local fiesta modeled on Bolivia's famous Carnaval, residents of one migrant barrio in city of Cochabamba labor to produce a collective identity based on their control of national folklore, in order to enhance legitimacy of their community and to foster integration with Bolivian nation. (Folklore, carnival, state formation, Bolivia) In 1968, Bolivian state nationalized popular culture. In presidential decree number 08396 of that year, military government of General Rene Barrientos Ortuno declared that folkloric music, defined as music produced by peasant groups and folk in general (grupos campesinos y folk en general), was now property of state (Guerra Gutierrez 1990:43). This same decree created a national Department of within Ministry of Education and Culture, specifically to promote cataloging and regulation of Bolivian folklore in its various manifestations. By 1970, government of General Barrientos had been twice replaced (first by that of General Ovando and then by that of General Banzer) (Klein 1992), but state's commitment to ownership and bureaucratization of national folkloric culture remained steadfast. In a decree of 1970, Banzer's government spelled out duties of national Department of and its regional subcommittees, most of which involved compiling registers and inventories of various dances and musics classified by state as folkloric, and promoting and sponsoring folkloric performances. Especially important in this was recognition of and support for annual carnival fiesta, Carnaval de Oruro, now elevated to a national folkloric celebration. In yet another presidential decree of 1970, Bolivian state declared city of Oruro to be Folklore Capital of (Guerra Gutierrez 1990). This series of presidential decrees can be read as part of a strategy by Bolivian state to incorporate popular cultural expressions such as music and dance as components of a national cultural patrimony (c.f. Garcia Canclini 1995). Occurring at a moment in Bolivian history when state stability and legitimacy were in doubt, state's declaration of ownership of all that is culturally produced by its folk represented an attempt to extend national dominion over most public and performative elements of indigenous popular culture, thereby fostering national consolidation and defining Bolivian state itself as legitimate representative of that totality, the natural embodiment of history, territory and society (Cohn and Dirks 1986: 12). Despite many changes that occurred in composition of Bolivian state over next two decades, consequences of this nationalization of popular culture endured. The national significance accorded to Oruro as Capital of Bolivia raised that city's Carnaval to status of national cultural event, and its associated dances, costumes, and musical styles have come to serve as indices of Bolivian nation wherever they are performed. Oruro thus has become a folkloric place within Bolivian national space (c.f. Carter et al. 1993; Gupta and Ferguson 1992), a key site for maintenance of an often fragile Bolivian national identity (Abercrombie 1991). This essay looks at production of a national culture of folklore in Bolivia and at attempts by subordinate groups, specifically urban migrants of Oruro origin, to manipulate discourses of folklore and national culture in contesting state hegemony and their own sociopolitical marginalization within contemporary Bolivian society. It is concerned with ways in which people of Villa Sebastian Pagador, a barrio of Oruro migrants in city of Cochabamba, Bolivia, creatively reappropriate nationalist meaning of folklore to characterize their own expressive culture. …

Additions to the Avifauna of Bolivia

-Records of 30 species are newly reported for Bolivia, based on the authors' field work and hitherto unpublished museum specimens. Three additional difficult-to-identify species are reported without specimen or photographic evidence. Some of the records could have been expected while others indicate notable range expansions. In 1976 and 1977, we saw many species of birds in Bolivia not previously reported from that country. Subsequent investigations concerning Bolivian bird records led to the discovery of a number of additional species new to Bolivia represented by previously unpublished specimens in the Louisiana State University Museum of Zoology (LSUMZ). All were collected by Franz Steinbach of Cochabamba, unless stated otherwise. We report below on our records and the Steinbach specimens. Localities frequently referred to in the species accounts are: (1) Tumi Chucua, along the Rio Beni near Riberalta (Dpto. Beni), described in detail by Pearson (1975a, 1975c); (2) Estancia Inglaterra, a cattle ranch along the Rio Yata (Dpto. Beni), 66025'W, 14o43'S; the habitat is a mixture of marsh, grassland, savanna, and gallery forest; (3) Buena Vista, elev. 400 m, Prov. Ichilo (Dpto. Santa Cruz), a locality worked intensively through the years by J. Steinbach and Franz Steinbach; (4) the vicinity of the city of Cochabamba, 2,570 m (Dpto. Cochabamba).