CASA Verde logo.

CSF has been working on an innovative platform to provide financial support to conservation projects in Bolivia. Named “CASA Verde”, the platform seeks to engage different sectors of Bolivian society, including conservation NGOs, private companies and the general public. The first step of this process was conducting a feasibility assessment. We began by studying the highly successfully BanCO2 platform implemented in Colombia, which is transforming the lives of communities that are protecting the ecosystems, by increasing incomes and facilitating the development of sustainable activities. Understanding that the Colombian context is very different than the Bolivian, we then assessed the preferences and interests of the different actors of Bolivian society, and drafted the first design of the CASA Verde platform.

In addition to the initial design, the feasibility assessment also included forming a coalition of environmental institutions, building a portfolio of conservation projects, developing communication tools, implementing a survey for individuals and initiating a series of meetings with interested companies, associations and organizations that promote sustainable development in the country. Based on the information we have obtained so far, we believe that CASA Verde is a unique and innovative proposal that has the potential to modify the level of involvement of the Bolivian society with conservation and environmental issues, through the development of a platform that facilitates the construction of socio-environmental alliances. The intention is to promote the private sector to get directly involved in issues that, until now, had been the exclusive responsibility of the central and regional governments supported by international institutions.

CSF and its partners plan to officially launch CASA Verde (site in Spanish) in 2018, focusing on four goals:

• i) serve as a platform for different sectors to cooperate and collaborate around environmental issues (through financial support and the provision of other resources, etc.);
• ii) disseminate environmental information and create environmental awareness nationwide;
• iii) generate a culture of engagement and philanthropy for conservation in Bolivia and,
• iv) provide new and sustainable sources of funding for local and national conservation projects.

The launch of CASA Verde will include dissemination workshops in three major cities in Bolivia, the implementation of an aggressive communication campaign to inform the general public about the platform, and confirmation of the first collaborative agreements with private companies and the general public.

CSF's role in this project is being generously supported by the Good Energies Foundation. The full list of partner organizations can be found at CASAVerde.com.bo. 

Community workshop in Pando, Bolivia. Photo: Ana Gómez.