Bolivia is losing its forests at one of the fastest rates anywhere in the world — in 2025 alone, it lost 1.8 million hectares to deforestation driven by agribusiness, cattle ranching, and fires. But a quieter, slower story is also unfolding, one being written not by national governments or international agreements, but by local communities taking matters into their own hands.
Over the past several months, four new protected areas have been established across Bolivia's Amazon lowlands and Andean highlands, covering 907,244 hectares — roughly 2.2 million acres. The effort was led by Indigenous communities and local councils who planned, approved, and now manage these protections themselves. The largest single addition is the Guardián Amazónico Pacahuara Integrated Natural Management Area in the municipality of Santos Mercado, in Bolivia's northern Pando department — 544,103 hectares established in October 2025, which brought the municipality's total protected territory to around 82%.
The new areas are designed not just as isolated patches of forest but as corridors connecting existing national parks — creating continuous habitat for wildlife including the endangered Bolivian river dolphin and the vulnerable harpy eagle. They also protect the livelihoods of communities whose economies depend on intact forest, particularly the Brazil nut harvest.
Eduardo Forno, vice president of Conservation International-Bolivia in La Paz, which supported the effort, described local leadership as capable of delivering conservation that strengthens communities and outlasts political cycles. By 2030, he expects to help communities protect an additional 4 million hectares.