The Chiquitania fires: the role of water resources in forest restoration plans

This fact sheet by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) describes a pilot program and framework designed to integrate water resource management into forest restoration plans following the 2019 'megafire' in the Chiquitano Forest of Bolivia.

• In 2019, intentional fires in the Chiquitano Forest escalated into a 'megafire' of unprecedented intensity, burning approximately 3.6 million hectares, which represents nearly 10% of the Santa Cruz Department.
• While regional and national agencies in Bolivia, including the Santa Cruz Department, launched restoration plans after the 2019 fires, these plans focused on governance, cultural, environmental, and socio-economic actions but failed to address water resource issues.
• SEI developed a prioritization framework and a Tableau visualization tool that combines watershed maps with land use and fire data from 2001 to 2019. This tool identifies watersheds most affected by the 2019 megafires, those with the highest total burns over 20 years, and areas with the greatest forest cover loss, while incorporating water-related indicators like groundwater recharge areas.
• Analysis indicates that forest conversion to cropping areas has increased steadily since 2001 and accelerated after 2016. In the northern Chiquitania region, watersheds possess the highest number of groundwater wells and recharge potential; although these areas have been less impacted by fires to date, they remain a priority for water resource planning.

APA

Wickel, B. (., Fernandez, J., & Escobar, M. (2020). The Chiquitania fires: the role of water resources in forest restoration plans. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/the-chiquitania-fires-the-role-of-water-resources-in-forest-restoration-plans.pdf

Chicago

Wickel, Bart (A.J.), Jeanne Fernandez, and Marisa Escobar. The Chiquitania fires: the role of water resources in forest restoration plans. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2020. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/the-chiquitania-fires-the-role-of-water-resources-in-forest-restoration-plans.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Wickel |first1=Bart (A.J.) |last2=Fernandez |first2=Jeanne |last3=Escobar |first3=Marisa |title=The Chiquitania fires: the role of water resources in forest restoration plans |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=October 2020 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/the-chiquitania-fires-the-role-of-water-resources-in-forest-restoration-plans.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wickel2020chiquitania, author = {Wickel, Bart (A.J.) and Fernandez, Jeanne and Escobar, Marisa}, title = {{The Chiquitania fires: the role of water resources in forest restoration plans}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2020}, month = oct, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/the-chiquitania-fires-the-role-of-water-resources-in-forest-restoration-plans.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }