Adaptation and validation of biochar technologies to improve the resilience of soils and cocoa-based livelihoods in the Bolivian Amazon.

The United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON), on behalf of the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), invites qualified and interested firms to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to participate in an upcoming solicitation for the provision of technical assistance for Adaptation and validation of biochar technologies to improve the resilience of soils and cocoa-based livelihoods in the Bolivian Amazon. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), on behalf of CTCN, seeks to engage a qualified consulting firm to provide the technical assistance requested and endorsed by the National Designated Entity (NDE) of Bolivia. The objective of this assignment is to strengthen technical, institutional, and local capacities to adapt, validate, and scale up biochar technologies produced from cocoa waste, demonstrating their effectiveness as a climate adaptation measure and developing an operational and financial model that enables their sustainable provision as a service or input for cocoa-producing organizations and other agroforestry systems in the Bolivian Amazon. In Bolivia, cocoa agroforestry systems in northern La Paz face two primary climate threats: droughts and water stress during the dry season, which reduce productivity, and erratic and intense rainfall during the wet season, which accelerate erosion and nutrient leaching. Degraded soils have lost their ability to retain moisture, amplifying their vulnerability to these climate extremes. Although biochar can improve soil structure and water retention, its adoption in Bolivia remains in its early stages due to a lack of adapted technologies, validated protocols, local evidence, technical capacity, and sustainable supply models. The country is highly vulnerable to climate change, with growing impacts on food security, ecosystems, and rural livelihoods. This vulnerability is most severe in cocoa agroforestry systems in northern La Paz, where threats such as droughts and seasonal water stress during the dry season (May–October) reduce yields; and erratic and intense rainfall during the wet season (November–March) accelerate erosion and nutrient leaching. Soil degradation exacerbates these climate threats by reducing the system’s ability to buffer water variability, making rural livelihoods increasingly vulnerable to climate change. Cocoa production generates residual biomass—primarily husks and pods—which often accumulates without being put to good use. Transforming this biomass into biochar represents an opportunity for circular value creation with direct potential for climate adaptation; if validated technically and economically, it could be gradually incorporated as a service or input for rural organizations and families. This potential is supported by Bolivia’s NDC 3.0 (2026–2035), which sets directly related targets (Target 2: restoration of 1 million hectares of agricultural land through sustainable management and recycling of organic waste; and Target 5: at least 25,000 hectares of resilient agroforestry systems incorporating technological innovation); and the Economic and Social Development Plan PDES 2026–2030, which reinforces this mandate by prioritizing the bioeconomy and the utilization of agricultural waste. Despite the goals of NDC 3.0, Bolivia faces a gap between planning and action on the ground. In the cocoa-growing areas of northern La Paz, soil degradation—exacerbated by seasonal droughts and erratic rainfalls, reducing productivity and eroding the resilience of livelihoods. This vulnerability is compounded by a missed opportunity: cocoa waste biomass accumulates on farm plots, creating conditions conducive to pests and diseases, when it could instead be converted into biochar to restore soils and improve their water retention capacity in the face of extreme weather events. In addition, the adoption of biochar as an adaptation measure faces barriers: (i) the absence of technologies adapted to local