Roberto Flock, bishop of the Diocese of San Ignacio de Velasco, expressed concern about the direction of environmental and forestry policies in Bolivia, questioning the absence of the Church’s voice at the recent summit “Adaptation and Mitigation to Climate Change: Unlocking Financing for Bolivia’s New Forestry Agenda,” held on April 27 and 28 in Santa Cruz.
In an opinion piece published in early May in the newspaper El Día, Bishop Flock lamented that the meeting—which brought together government officials, investors, donors, and multilateral institutions—did not include the Church, despite the pastoral and ecological commitment promoted by Pope Francis’s teaching through the encyclical Laudato Si’ and the apostolic exhortation Querida Amazonía.
“I would have liked to participate, representing the Bolivian Episcopal Conference,” said the bishop, who is also responsible for the ecology section of the Caritas Social Pastoral Area of the Bolivian Episcopal Conference.
The Bolivian Amazon Facing the Advance of Deforestation
Drawing on his pastoral and territorial experience in San Ignacio de Velasco, Bishop Flock described with concern the rapid advance of deforestation in one of the country’s most affected regions.
The bishop denounced that the expansion of the agricultural frontier, driven mainly by soybean production and policies aimed at increasing meat exports, is placing growing pressure on the Amazonian forests and the region’s ecosystems.
“San Ignacio de Velasco is the epicenter of deforestation in Bolivia,” he noted, recalling reports by various media outlets and environmental organizations.
In his reflection, he also referred to the multiple causes driving the destruction of the forest: wildfires, uncontrolled burning, livestock expansion, monoculture farming, activities linked to drug trafficking, and extractive practices that threaten biodiversity and the lives of indigenous peoples.
A Prophetic Voice for Our Common Home
Bishop Flock questioned why the environmental debate often focuses solely on financing rather than on the comprehensive protection of life and territories.
“The very title of the meeting indicates the government’s main concern: unlocking financing. Let us hope it is not for further destruction,” he wrote.
He also warned of the ecological and human consequences of the ecocide unfolding in eastern Bolivia, where—as he noted—more than 24 million hectares have been burned in the last seven years.
“Ecocide is suicide and also uneconomical behavior,” the bishop stated, issuing an urgent call to adopt a more responsible and ethical relationship with creation.
In his pastoral reflection, Bishop Flock noted that trees and forests cannot be viewed solely through an economic or productive lens, but rather as an essential part of the balance of life, the habitat of fauna and flora, and the existence of the indigenous peoples inhabiting the Amazon.
A Church Committed to Integral Ecology
The bishop also shared some initiatives developed on the cattle ranches administered by the diocese, where they work alongside the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) on environmental monitoring and endangered species protection projects.
Thanks to camera traps installed in the territories, they were able to record rare and threatened species, such as the bush dog and the pampas cat, highlighting the immense ecological wealth still preserved in the Amazon region.
These experiences, he noted, show that it is possible to promote productive activities with environmental responsibility and in harmony with the care of biodiversity.
“Cultivating the garden” rather than destroying it
Drawing inspiration from passages in Genesis and Revelation, Bishop Roberto Flock concluded his reflection with a call to care for the “garden” that God has entrusted to humanity.
“May we learn to cultivate the very good garden in which God has placed us, rather than bringing apocalyptic destruction upon ourselves.”
From the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA), these prophetic voices remind us of the urgency of continuing to promote an integral ecology that places at its center the defense of life, the protection of Amazonian peoples, and the care of our Common Home in the face of the many threats affecting the Amazon.