By Daniela Romero
La Paz, Bolivia (EFE). — Indigenous communities in southwestern Bolivia, home to the country’s largest lithium reserves, are calling on the government of Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz to require environmental impact studies and prior consultation before moving forward with lithium exploitation projects, warning of potential damage to water resources and fragile ecosystems.
The demand is outlined in a draft bill prepared by authorities in Nor Lípez province, in the Andean department of Potosí, aimed at ensuring indigenous participation in future lithium projects and clarifying their long-term consequences, community leaders told EFE.
“We want to know what awaits us 10 years from now,” said Iván Calcina, secretary general of the Central Única Provincial de Comunidades Originarias of Nor Lípez.
Calls for consultation and environmental safeguards
Calcina said the communities’ main demands are “free, prior and informed consultation” and comprehensive environmental impact studies, requirements that he said were either absent or vaguely defined in previous legislation.
“For us, the most important points are prior consultation and environmental impact assessments, because we understand that earlier laws did not clearly establish these obligations,” he said.
According to Calcina, 14 indigenous communities live around the Uyuni salt flat, which holds the bulk of Bolivia’s lithium reserves.
These communities would be directly affected by potential extraction and industrialization projects, particularly due to water scarcity and other environmental risks.
“The first concern for communities living around the salt flat is water,” he said. “They want a hydrological study, which will be important not only for the region but for all Bolivians.”
Concerns over past lithium contracts
The communities’ concerns stem largely from contracts signed under former Bolivian president Luis Arce (2020–2025) with Chinese and Russian companies to industrialize lithium using direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology.
Those projects lacked environmental impact studies, indigenous leaders and experts said.
The planned investments were estimated at 2.006 billion dollars but were later suspended following strong criticism of two contracts.
Indigenous communities were also not consulted prior to the signing of those agreements, despite legal requirements under Bolivian law.
Energy experts have warned that the Chinese and Russian projects “lacked solid foundations regarding environmental impact,” cautioning that their implementation could have caused “significant harm to local communities.”
State projects and political shifts
During Arce’s administration, Bolivia’s lithium reserves were estimated at around 23 million tons, most of them in the Uyuni salt flat, which spans roughly 10,000 square kilometers (approximately 6,214 square miles) and is also one of the country’s main tourist attractions.
In Dec. 2023, a state-run industrial complex with an annual production capacity of 15,000 tons of lithium carbonate was inaugurated in Uyuni. The plant uses an evaporation pond system but has operated at less than 20% of its capacity due to design flaws.
The facility, located in the municipality of Colcha K, was delivered by Arce, who said the initial investment amounted to 669 million bolivianos (about 96 million dollars).
Although the project was launched under former Bolivian president Evo Morales (2006–2019), Arce declared in 2023 the start of “the lithium era,” goals that were ultimately not met.
President Paz, who was sworn in on Nov. 8, has accused previous administrations of having “stolen Bolivia’s lithium” due to the lack of tangible results in its exploitation and industrialization, and has pledged to pursue more effective solutions.
Calcina said indigenous leaders hope the draft bill will reach national authorities and be taken into account.
“We want to be included in decision-making and protected from environmental impacts,” he said, stressing that lithium development must respect both communities and nature. EFE
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