Presentation of the Municipal Atlas of the Sustainable Development Goals in Bolivia 2020

By: SDSN Bolivia

A treasure of information on development in each of Bolivia’s 339 municipalities is made available to all Bolivian society. (Available in: www.sdsnbolivia.org/Atlas)

This Monday, July 27th at 09:45 am, the Municipal Atlas of the SDGs in Bolivia was presented free of charge and through virtual channels. The document diagnoses the development in each of the 339 municipalities of Bolivia, based on more than 60 different indicators that measure various dimensions of sustainable development, based on the 2030 Agenda. The publication belongs to the Bolivia Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). SDSN is a global network that operates under the auspices of the United Nations.

Following a keynote address by Professor Jeffrey Sachs, economist, director of SDSN globally and of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, the Atlas was presented by Lykke E. Andersen, Executive Director of SDSN Bolivia and general coordinator of the project, in a discussion with representatives of SDSN New York, the Autonomous Municipal Government of La Paz and the Bolivian Private University.

The main issues addressed by the publication include poverty, health, education, gender equality, access to services, productive infrastructure, environmental impacts and many more. The topics comprise processed and aggregated data for an easy interpretation of the situation of each municipality on a single page. Additionally, and for more research-related purposes, the complete database was also published free of charge for the use of researchers, journalists, students and businessmen. The data would allow almost any topic to be analyzed in greater depth. In this way, SDSN Bolivia contributes to remedying the lack of information at the municipal level, which in Bolivia is a hindering reality for academic studies in general.

The launching of the Atlas is timely as the elaboration of Municipal Development Plans is approaching. The results of the publication will make it possible to identify weaknesses and strengths, and to establish appropriate priorities so that each municipality can advance towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The preparation of the Atlas was made possible thanks to the generous funding of the Solydes Foundation and the collaboration of many institutions, both public and private.

The event was held during the Bolivian Conference on Economic Development (BCDE 2020), which took place on July 27 and 28 in a virtual format with free and open access. In addition to the launch of the Atlas, the conference included a series of presentations by international experts, as well as nearly 100 presentations of national and international research on different aspects of development. BCDE 2020 is organized by SDSN Bolivia, the Bolivian Society of Economists (SEBOL), the Bolivian Academy of Economic Sciences (ABCE), the Bolivian Private University (UPB) and the INESAD Foundation, with the sponsorship of the Solydes Foundation.