The Northwestern Bolivian Andes are documented as one of the most species-rich regions of the world. This area of approximately 40,000 km2 includes sweeping altitudinal range on the eastern flanks of the Andes. Species such as spectacled bear, white-lipped peccary, jaguar, lowland tapir and their habitats are partially protected by two protected areas, the Madidi National Park and Natural Area of Integrated Management and the Apolobamba Natural Area of Integrated Management. Yet these protected areas alone cannot conserve such wide-ranging, resource-demanding species, nor is the current capacity of the protected areas service (SERNAP) sufficient to protect the reserves. The unique biological richness of the region is threatened by unregulated land and resource use that occurs beyond the boundaries of the protected areas, thereby affecting wildlife. Threats within the Greater Madidi region include organized and spontaneous colonization, logging, livestock grazing, over-hunting and over-fishing, as well as a legal and regulatory framework that is fraught with internal conflicts.

To attain the goal of conserving biodiversity within the region, the Bolivia project is applying the landscape conservation approach. Although the suite of selected landscape species are well known for their extensive habitat requirements, there is little information about their basic biology or the magnitude of their spatial needs. The project aims to determine these landscape species requirements, to develop management strategies that include both protected areas and critical non-protected areas, and to include the full participation of local peoples and other stakeholders in management decisions.

The prime example of how the project is involved with local communities in the region is through its work with the Tacana people to support the creation of a large Tierra Comunitaria de Origen (TCO) that directly borders a large portion of Madidi's park boundary. By working with the Tacana groups and by using the landscape conservation approach, the project will ensure that significant tracts of natural and semi-natural habitat will retain a high conservation value for the focal landscape species as well as biodiversity as a whole. At the same time the landscape approach provides the local population with incentives to improve land-use practices and policies.

In the Madidi region the project's efforts complements the work of other conservation and sustainable development projects involving such non-governmental organizations as CARE, Conservation International and World Wildlife Fund. In the Apolobamba protected area, WCS will be collaborating with the Spanish Cooperation (CE), which has been supporting SERNAP with their efforts to manage vicuña populations and with its recent expansion to the Apolobamba cloud forest. In addition, there are collaborations with the American Museum of Natural History, which is involved in taxonomic research and environmental education. The project will also be collaborating with WWF, CI and SERNAP in their efforts to create a larger ecological corridor connecting Madidi National Park to Amboro National Park.

To learn more, please visit the WCS-Northwest Bolivia website.