Tacana II Indigenous Territory Formally Recognized in Bolivian Amazon After Over Two Decades of Effort

After more than 20 years of persistent effort, the organization representing the Tacana II Indigenous Communities of the Madre de Dios River (CITRMD) was officially granted the formal title to their ancestral lands as a Communal Indigenous Territory (TIOC). This important achievement grants collective territorial rights over a biodiverse area spanning 673,065 acres (272,380 hectares) of Amazonian forests in the Department of La Paz in Bolivia, near the border with Peru. The titling process was completed on July 10, 2025, with the formal granting of the land title issued by Bolivia’s National Agrarian Reform Institute (INRA). The title for the Tacana II Communal Indigenous Territory, called a TIOC in Bolivia, represents an important win for the territorial rights of the Tacana Indigenous Peoples and Amazonian biodiversity conservation.

Home to jaguars, tapirs, spider monkeys, macaws, and hundreds of species of birds, reptiles, and amphibians, the Tacana II territory spans primary Amazonian forests and important water resources such as the Madre de Dios River and its numerous tributaries. Here, the rivers are vital for sustaining aquatic ecosystems and supporting the livelihoods of local communities while the forests supply a vast array of medicinal plant species that are important in the Tacana Indigenous Peoples’ culture.

The newly titled Tacana II Communal Indigenous Territory forms a critical piece of the biological corridor connecting a vast mosaic of national, subnational, and transboundary protected areas in Bolivia and Peru, including the adjacent Madidi National Park (Bolivia), Bahuaja Sonene National Park (Peru), Tambopata National Reserve (Peru), Manuripi National Amazon Wildlife Reserve (Bolivia), and Bajo Madidi Municipal Conservation Area (Bolivia). This connectivity is crucial for the livelihoods of the Tacana People, wildlife habitat, protecting important bodies of water, and carbon sequestration in a region facing increasing pressure on its forests.

The two decades long titling process required input and dedication from the local communities and grants them greater autonomy and rights that will help protect their forests and sustain their quality of life with enhanced opportunities.

This recognition is a longstanding victory for territorial rights and biodiversity conservation in Bolivia’s Amazon and it recognizes Indigenous Peoples as guardians of their ancestral forests. 

Acknowledgements:

This accomplishment was made possible through the dedicated efforts of the Indigenous communities of Puerto Pérez, Las Mercedes, Toromonas, and El Tigre and Bolivia’s National Ministry of Agrarian Reform with technical support from Conservación Amazónica – ACEAA, Fundación TIERRA, Confederación de Pueblos Indígenas del Oriente Boliviano (CIDOB), Central de Pueblos Indígenas de La Paz (CPILAP), and the Inter-American Development Bank. Financial contributions were generously provided by the Andes Amazon Fund (with funding from the Wyss Foundation), Amazon Conservation Association (ACA), the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Conservation International, the Full Circle Foundation, and the International Conservation Fund of Canada among others.