This case study examines the regulatory framework in Bolivia for the receipt of international disaster assistance in light of the experience of relief operations in response to the flooding that affected over forty percent of the territory in early 2007.
Based on legal research and interviews with key stakeholders, the author finds that there was much that went right in this operation: the government showed flexibility in a number of areas, include with regard to visas, the practice of foreign medical personnel and the forbearance of military authorities in exercising some of their powers over humanitarian organizations.
However, there were also a number of problems, in particular with regard to information sharing between various levels of government and the international community and in customs clearance of foreign relief goods and equipment.
The study is available online at:: http://www.ifrc.org/Docs/pubs/idrl/bolivia-cs.pdf