Announcing Montane Ecosystems – Río Negro Municipal Conservation Area – Protecting Water Resources in Bolivia

AAF is happy to announce the creation of Montane Ecosystems- Río Negro  on August 28, 2020. Located west of the capital of the municipality of Coroico, the protected area has been identified as a water source for the municipal capital and neighboring communities. Montane Ecosystems will conserve areas of cloud forest with an altitudinal range between 2,700 to 1,100 masl and is located at the beginning of the cloud forests of northern La Paz.

The area is home to more than 10 species of flora and fauna facing various levels of threat of extinction. Some of them include the Aquatic Bolivian Frog (Telmatobius bolivianus– NT), the sickle-winged guan (Chamaepetes goudotii-LC), the dwarf brocket (Mazama chunyi-VU) and the hooded tinamou (Nothocercus nigrocapillus-VU), among others.

The new area will provide ecosystem services that will ensure that the surrounding communities (Coroico Viejo, San Juan de la Miel, Atalaya-Santa Elisa and Villa Asención) have access to enough quantity and quality of water in the future – and to buffer them against extreme weather-related events.

Thanks to the diligence of our grantee Natura Bolivia, communities surrounding Río Negro Municipal Conservation Area can prosper knowing their water resources and biodiversity are being protected.