An Explanation of the Bolivian Highlands Grazing-Erosion Syndrome

Abstract

Highland Bolivia is naturally subject to heavy erosion. However the situation is exacerbated by the presence of denuded ranges. Apparently, the large bands of (mainly) sheep and goats, which are the cause of overgrazing, are on or close to the biological limit of the range resource. Why this should be so has been a mystery to outsiders, since all available grazing is subject to private or communal control. The notion that an adequate explanation can be found in free competition for a common property resource is rejected mainly because what appears to be common rangeland really is not. An explanation for overstocking is found in a complex of factors linked to culture and tradition as well as to agronomic forces. Typical pressure for families to maintain herd sizes is reinforced by little preception of erosion as a threat to subsistence and by lack of forage alternatives in bad years. Even at the community level, therefore, there appears to be little incentive voluntarily to reduce grazing. Three nonvoluntary control options are discussed, but all would be difficult to introduce. This "case study" is an illustration of the kind of background knowledge that must be developed in order to combat erosion in third-world settings.