Indigenous government in Bolivia approves Ñembi Guasu management plan

This month, Bolivia saw two major conservation breakthroughs. The Charagua Iyambae autonomous Indigenous government endorsed by law the management plan for the Ñembi Guasu Indigenous Conservation Area, marking a crucial step to further improve the governance for one of the largest Indigenous led- conservation areas in Bolivia. The other good news is the approval of the Law of Protected Areas of the Charagua which provides an overall governance framework for all protected areas in Charagua.

Header photo: Ñembi Guasu© Sander van Andel / IUCN NL

Ñembi Guasu was one the first protected areas created by an Indigenous autonomous government in Bolivia. And is now one of the few, if not the only example in Bolivia where a management plan for an Indigenous protected area is approved by law by an indigenous government. After the formal consolidation of the Ñembi Guasu Indigenous Conservation Area borders in 2019, the recent approval of the management plan marks an essential step forward.

The Ñembi Guasu Indigenous Conservation Area is located in the northern expanse of the Gran Chaco, in Bolivia’s Santa Cruz department. The reserve, covering 1,207,850 hectares, serves as an essential ecological and cultural area, serving as a huge corridor that links the protected areas of Kaa Iya National Park and Otuquis National Park, creating a continuous area of 4,6 million hectares of land. The biodiversity found here faces challenges from the impacts of climate change through fires and deforestation.

Supporting Indigenous-led conservation

The Ñembi Guasu Area of Ecological Importance is a vital space that ensures the vision of the Guaraní nation, YAIKO KAVI PAVE (to live well), which is why the protected area is an indivisible part of its territory. This area allows for a range of ecological roles, whose environmental functions sustain, in addition to the livelihoods of the Guarani nation, the group of Ayoreo in voluntary isolation and other productive activities that sustain the local and regional economy.

The construction of the Ñembi Guasu management plan and the approval into law has been done through numerous consultations and meetings with the active participation of community and zonal leaders, elders and representatives of the three governance bodies of GAIOC Charagua Iyambea: Executive body (Tëtarembiokuai Reta), Legislative body (Mborokuai Simbika Iyapoa Reta) and Large Collective Assembly (Ñemboatiguasu).

Continue collaboration and support needed

Through our partner organisation NATIVA Bolivia, IUCN NL has been strengthening the locally-led management of Ñembi Guasu, of the Charagua Iymabea Indigenous Autonomous Government since 2018, with a broad international consortium of World Land Trust (WLT), Nature and Culture International (NCI), and DOB Ecology.

‘We congratulate the Charagua Iyambae autonomy and its authorities for their constant commitment to conservation’, says Ivan Arnold Director at NATIVA Bolivia. The authorities of Charagua have once again demonstrated their dedication and commitment to the protection of their territory. With the management plan for Ñembi Guasu, they are consolidating an important aspect of the management of this fundamental area for the Gran Chaco Pantanal Landscape. From NATIVA, we ratify our commitment to continue supporting the management of this important protected area at the national level and also at the Gran Chaco Americano level.’

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‘As IUCN NL we congratulate the Charagua Indigenous peoples and its authorities for their achievements and for their constant commitment to conservation.’ says Sander van Andel, Senior Expert Nature Conservation at IUCN NL. ‘The primary goal of the current phase of our collaboration is a to lay the basis for the sustainable management of Ñembi Guasu in alignment with local Indigenous principles, ensuring ecological connectivity within the Chaco-Pantanal Conservation Landscape.’

The activities of the current project will culminate at the close of 2024. By that time, we aim to have establish a range of technical, financial, legal, and political initial conditions for the reserve. These initial conditions will need to be further consolidated in a new phase with the people of Charagua and its autonomous Indigenous government GAIOC Charagua Iyambea. 

Over the next years the teams of NATIVA Bolivia and IUCN NL aim to maintain their support for the Indigenous management of the Ñembi Guasu Indigenous Conservation Area, with a broad alliance of actors. Efforts will be focused, among others, on the implementation of the approved management plan, as well as on enhancing both public and political support for the conservation of Ñembi Guasu and the broader Great Chaco-Pantanal Conservation Landscape.

Current threat to Nembi Guasu by forest fires

While receiving this good news, at the same time there are huge forest fires in Robore, on the northern border of the Nembi Guasu reserve. Firefighters and community members are fighting the fires with scarce resources, while the flames advance dangerously. The dry season aggravates the crisis, putting people, animals and thousands of hectares of forest and protected areas such as Ñembi Guasu at risk.