Del Potencial a la Acción: OMEC y Conservación Inclusiva en Bolivia

The report examines Bolivia's conservation landscape, highlighting a tension between formal state strategies and local practices. While Bolivia has a robust system of protected areas and land tenure, conservation outside these areas is often hindered by state priorities favoring extractivism and agribusiness. The document argues that indigenous territories and community-led initiatives offer significant potential for OECM recognition, provided that the state shifts toward a more inclusive, less bureaucratic, and better-funded support system that aligns with local livelihoods.

• Bolivia possesses high biological diversity, with 41% of its territory identified as having high conservation values, a significant portion of which is located within indigenous territories.
• The national system of protected areas (AP) covers 31.7% of the country's surface, but subnational areas (municipal and departmental) often lack the basic funding, governance structures, and management instruments necessary for effective operation.
• Conservation outside protected areas is primarily driven by land-use regulations (PLUS) and management instruments (POP, PGIBT), but these are frequently bypassed or manipulated to facilitate agricultural expansion.
• Structural threats to conservation include a heavy state reliance on extractives (mining and gas) and the expansion of the agricultural frontier, which often overrides environmental protections.
• There is a significant gap between Bolivia's legal recognition of the rights of nature and indigenous territories and the actual implementation of these rights, particularly regarding Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC).
• Indigenous and community-led management models, such as those in the TCO Monte Verde and castaña-producing communities in Pando, demonstrate high effectiveness in maintaining forest cover when conservation is linked to sustainable livelihoods.
• The state has not yet formally adopted the OECM framework, and it is not explicitly included in the current updates to the national biodiversity strategy (PEPGISB) or the proposed Law of the Plurinational System of Protected Areas and Strategic Ecosystems.
• Effective operationalization of OECMs in Bolivia would require simplifying bureaucratic management instruments, establishing stable financing mechanisms, and formally recognizing indigenous territorial plans (PGTI).

APA

Toro, M., Pacheco, R., & Rojas, R. (2025). Del Potencial a la Acción: OMEC y Conservación Inclusiva en Bolivia. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/1804/Final_Bolivia_Country_Report.pdf

Chicago

Toro, Marco, Rodrigo Pacheco, and Ricardo Rojas. Del Potencial a la Acción: OMEC y Conservación Inclusiva en Bolivia. WWF International, 2025. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/1804/Final_Bolivia_Country_Report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Toro |first1=Marco |last2=Pacheco |first2=Rodrigo |last3=Rojas |first3=Ricardo |title=Del Potencial a la Acción: OMEC y Conservación Inclusiva en Bolivia |publisher=WWF International |date=December 2025 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/1804/Final_Bolivia_Country_Report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{toro2025del, author = {Toro, Marco and Pacheco, Rodrigo and Rojas, Ricardo}, title = {{Del Potencial a la Acción: OMEC y Conservación Inclusiva en Bolivia}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2025}, month = dec, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/1804/Final_Bolivia_Country_Report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }