Bolivia’s conservation push shifts to the local level
Bolivia is adding land to its protected estate at a moment when forest loss is accelerating. Over the past several months, local governments and Indigenous communities have created four new protected areas totaling just over 900,000 hectares, stretching from Amazonian lowlands to Andean foothills. The scale is notable. So is the way it has been done, reports Max Radwin.
The new areas were planned and approved at the municipal level, often linking Indigenous territories with existing national parks. The aim is practical: to keep forests intact across larger landscapes so wildlife can move, rivers remain functional, and rural economies based on standing forest can endure. In several cases, municipalities have placed more than half of their territory under some form of protection.
That local initiative contrasts with national trends. Bolivia expanded its national protected areas aggressively in the early 2000s, but momentum slowed. In the past five years only two national parks have been created or upgraded. Meanwhile deforestation has surged, driven by agriculture, cattle ranching, mining, and fire. In 2025 the country lost 1.8m hectares of tree cover, according to satellite data.
Against that backdrop, municipalities have begun acting on their own. In Pando, along the Brazilian border, residents of Santos Mercado created the Guardián Amazónico Pacahuara Integrated Natural Management Area, protecting more than 540,000 hectares. Mining and logging had begun to affect water supplies and Brazil-nut harvests, the backbone of the local economy.
“That’s where the initiative was born,” said Ericka Cortez, president of the municipal council. “The concern to conserve the environment, to conserve our Amazon, our forest and more than anything: the beauty of our Brazil nut.”
Other areas respond to similar pressures. In La Paz department, Indigenous Mosetén communities backed a new municipal park to protect watersheds needed for cacao and coffee. Elsewhere, new reserves are intended to curb illegal gold mining and connect established parks through migration corridors.
Support from conservation groups and international donors helped turn local plans into legal designations. Long-term management will be harder. Municipal governments have limited budgets and enforcement capacity. Sustaining these areas will depend on outside financing and on whether forest-based livelihoods can reliably outcompete clearing land.