| Very annoying when the source to the real report that is being discussed is not included. So here it is, in Spanish [pdf]: http://www.unodc.org/documents/bolivia/Informe_Monitoreo_Coc.... I don't speak Spanish so I have not read this report. According to [1]: “It’s not only about making money off a crop. In the old fashioned alternative development approach, we substitute one illicit crop for a licit crop. It’s about a more comprehensive approach that includes access to essential services like schools, hospitals, and roads in areas that traditionally have been hard to reach,” and another citation, from the original UN report press release [2]: "the importance of comprehensive, participative and long-term development programmes, as essential elements to ensure a sustained reduction of illicit crops." I am by far an expert in this area, but I think kicking out the DEA allowed Bolivia to shift efforts from violent, top down (US orchestrated) repression to: * Giving farmers incentives to shift to other crops: do not let coca be the only way of sustaining the farmers family * Still allow coca growing for traditional usage (chewed, in tea, or as a natural analgesic) * Bottom up: work together with coca unions and farmers to understand the incentives that drive farmers to chose coca in the first place * Probably many more things I am not aware of [1] http://theantimedia.org/cocaine-production-plummets-after-de... [2] http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/2015/August/2014-bol... edit: layout fixes |