Bolivia has added nearly a million hectares to its protected areas over the last several months, an effort by local governments to link Indigenous territories with nearby national parks and strengthen ecological connectivity. The four new protected areas cover 907,244 hectares (2.2 million acres) of Amazon lowlands and Andean highlands, creating corridors intended to improve wildlife migration and maintain forest-based economies for local families. The effort was led by local officials and Indigenous communities, who planned and approved the protections. “In many cases, the municipalities have now protected more than half their territories, a remarkable commitment that shows how local leadership can deliver durable conservation that strengthens communities and outlasts political cycles,” Eduardo Forno, vice president of Conservation International-Bolivia, which supported the projects, said in a statement. The initiative was also backed by the Andes Amazon Fund, Rainforest Trust, Conservación Amazónica, and the Swedish Embassy and EU. In recent years, Bolivia has had some of the highest deforestation rates in the world, driven by agribusiness, cattle ranching and fires, among other factors. In 2025, it lost 1.8 million hectares (4.4 million acres), according to Global Forest Watch, a satellite monitoring initiative. The year before that, it lost around 490,000 hectares (1.2 million acres). In the early 2000s, Bolivia made a push to expand nationally protected areas. But since then, efforts have tapered off. In the last five years, only two nationally protected areas have been created or upgraded: El Choré National Park in Santa Cruz department and El Cardón Natural Park and…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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