Four Bolivian municipalities created new protected areas, stitching together Bolivia’s conservation mosaic from Andean cloud forests to Amazon lowlands.
Bolivia’s conservation mosaic expanded significantly between November 2025 and January 2026, when local governments in four municipalities designated new protected areas totaling roughly the size of Yellowstone National Park. The designations mark a striking display of local leadership in a country facing some of the highest per-capita deforestation rates in the world.
Rather than waiting for national-level action, municipal governments, Indigenous peoples, and rural communities across Bolivia are charting their own path toward conservation grounded in local priorities. Bolivia’s conservation mosaic now stretches in an unbroken pattern connecting cloud forests, lowland rainforest, and river systems, designed specifically to link with existing Indigenous territories and national parks rather than standing as isolated fragments.
This connectivity matters enormously for wildlife. Continuous corridors allow species to migrate between ecosystems, proving far more effective at sustaining biodiversity than scattered, disconnected protected areas. Bolivia’s conservation mosaic now forms part of a much larger wildlife migration corridor linking iconic national parks including Madidi and Cotapata.
The Gran Paitití Municipal Park and Integrated Natural Management Area, spanning 83,825 hectares, serves as a critical link between Amazon lowlands and Andean highlands. Its cloud-covered peaks supply fresh water to local communities, though gold-rich soil has made the region vulnerable to mining pressure. The designation brings 56% of the municipality of Mapiri under conservation, protecting three critically endangered endemic frog species alongside two endangered glass frogs found nowhere else.
In northern Bolivia, the 191,310-hectare Los Palmares de Villa Nueva Integrated Natural Management Area protects intact Amazonian forest sustaining the region’s Brazil nut economy, which provides up to 91% of household income for local families. Protecting these forests also creates opportunities for açaí and cacao production. The municipality of Villa Nueva now conserves 68% of its territory, safeguarding habitat for endangered giant otters and spider monkeys.
The largest addition to Bolivia’s conservation mosaic, the 544,103-hectare Guardián Amazónico Pacahuara Integrated Natural Management Area, honors the Pacahuara people’s sacred connection to the Amazon. Consisting mostly of untouched forest and wide river plains, the designation protects critical water sources and Brazil nut harvesting livelihoods while bringing 82% of the municipality of Santos Mercado under conservation. The area shelters endangered Amazon river dolphins, vulnerable harpy eagles, tapirs, giant anteaters, and giant armadillos.
Rounding out the additions, the 88,006-hectare Serranías y Cuencas de Palos Blancos Municipal Park borders Mosetén Indigenous territory. Its mountain ranges and valleys capture and release rainfall, feeding rivers, including the Alto Beni, and providing freshwater for 73 communities while supporting local cacao, coffee, citrus, and plantain production. This designation brings 26% of Palos Blancos under protection, safeguarding a critically endangered snake species and the endangered harlequin frog.
Bolivia’s conservation mosaic grew through community-led designation processes shaped by local assemblies and Indigenous leaders, protecting endangered species, including the Amazon river dolphin, giant otter, and the three-colored harlequin toad, while safeguarding Brazil nut and cacao economies for 73 communities. Photo by Daniel Alarcón, courtesy of Conservation International.
Community assemblies, Indigenous leaders, and local producers shaped every stage of these designations across all four municipalities. Villa Nueva council member Mirtha Vaca described the process as collective, built through participation from men, women, and youth, with every step designed to leave lasting benefits and guarantee a better future for local communities.
Bolivia’s conservation mosaic reflects a broader shift in how conservation is carried out across the country. Santos Mercado Municipal Council president Ericka Cortez explained that the protected area exists to conserve water from four rivers so children can enjoy what current generations have today, framing the designation as a deliberate break from a past defined by deforestation toward a present grounded in conservation.
Conservation International-Bolivia guided consultation processes, prepared technical and legal documentation, and coordinated the local participation that made these designations possible. The protected areas in Santos Mercado and Villa Nueva emerged through the Bosques para Siempre project, implemented in partnership with Conservación Amazónica-ACEAA, with funding from Rainforest Trust, the Andes Amazon Fund, the Swedish Embassy, and the European Union. The Mapiri and Palos Blancos designations were developed in partnership with Red TUSOCO and were also supported by Rainforest Trust and the Andes Amazon Fund.
These four new protected areas build on decades of accumulated conservation work. Conservation International-Bolivia has supported protection of more than 6.4 million hectares across the country since 1997, including Madidi National Park, recognized as one of the most biodiverse protected areas on Earth. Bolivia’s conservation mosaic now represents the latest expression of that long-term strategy, demonstrating how sustained partnership between international conservation organizations and municipal governments compounds over decades into landscape-scale protection.
The approach offers a model relevant well beyond Bolivia’s borders. Where national conservation policy can stall amid shifting political priorities, Bolivia’s conservation mosaic demonstrates that municipal-level action, grounded in Indigenous leadership and community consultation, can deliver durable protection that strengthens local economies while safeguarding critical ecosystems for generations ahead.
