Bajo Madidi Conservation and Management Area is a municipal protected area created in 2019 by the Ixiamas municipality, with support from Conservation International and Andes Amazon Fund. The largest municipal protected area in Bolivia, it covers more than 1.5 million hectares and is home to some of the best preserved and pristine forests and savannas in the country. With 70% of the protected area forested and containing six of the most important rivers in the region, securing its long-term protection is critical to both preserving the essential ecosystem services it provides and maintaining the livelihoods of communities who live there.
In September 2021, CSF began a project to identify and develop financial mechanisms for this protected area. To ensure a thorough and complete understanding of the economic activities within the protected area, our data collection process involved one-on-one interviews and workshops with community members, community authorities, and municipal authorities.
Our analysis identified the most appropriate financial mechanisms for this protected area, namely private finance for nature, a system of collections (Sistema de Cobros, SISCO) for Brazil-nut commercialization, a SISCO for tourism, and a trust fund. We then developed a roadmap that details how each of these mechanisms should be implemented and in what order of operation. If all four strategies are implemented, the revenues would cover Bajo Madidi total operating costs within five years, with the expectation that the revenue would continue to increase and surpass operating costs.
This project was supported by Conservation International Bolivia.
Photo: Central American Agouti (jouti colorado)
Photo Credit: Ferdy Timmerman/ Shutterstock.com