Bolivia : integrated rural development in a colonization setting

projects promoting integrated rural development (IRD) and new lands settlement in the subtropical lowland areas of Chane-Piray and San Julian in eastern Bolivia - a 1974 loan to the National Colonization Institute (INC) and a 1979 grant to the private Foundation for Integral Development (FIDES) - are evaluated. Physical infrastructure work, which was carried out by INC before the settlers arrived, was rated poor; technical services, which were provided by FIDES on a self-help basis, were rated excellent. Micro-level economic and social impacts were mixed at Chane-Piray but, thanks to FIDES's influence, were very positive at San Julian. Macro-level economic, social, and environmental impacts were substantial and generally positive, although the long-term impact of merging Indian and Spanish cultures and of replacing virgin forests with crop and pasture land is unknown. IRD activities were limited to San Julian. On the whole, the design of the projects was replicable. Regarding IRD, the projects taught the need for: continuity of commitment, along with comprehensiveness of perspective as well as an ability to adapt individual IRD elements; proximity of implementors to beneficiaries, active participation by the latter, and close program monitoring; support systems promoting self-help and self-capitalization; and a quick-response capability (decentralized decisionmaking) on the part of implementors. Regarding resettlement, the projects taught that: farming conditions should be evaluated (e.g., via experimental farms) before settlement; settlement proved most successful when due to a combination of self-selection and the provision of essential (but not dependency-creating) support services; the most essential infrastructure items are water, access roads, and viable community layouts; critical services must be provided until the first crop is harvested and sold; turnover of a settler's parcel of land does not necessarily reflect failure; and consolidation and growth ultimately depend on settlers' own efforts and resources. Appendices treat project interventions, impacts, development issues, and lessons learned in detail and include a 42-item bibliography (1968-83).