A new fund, announced Oct. 30, plans to support the territorial land management visions of four Indigenous organizations in Bolivia’s Madidi Landscape. It has so far attracted $650,000 in initial support from the Bezos Earth Fund, and more funding from several other sources is now being explored. “We want these funds to help us move […]
  • A new funding mechanism aims to support the territorial land management visions of four Indigenous groups in the region, including the Tacana, Lecos, T’simane Mosetene and San José de Uchupiamonas Indigenous peoples, who also contributed to the creation of this fund, along with the Regional Organization of Indigenous People of La Paz (CPILAP).
  • The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) launched the new funding mechanism, in collaboration with Bolivia’s Foundation for the Development of the National System of Protected Areas (FUNDESNAP); the new mechanism will channel conservation funds to Indigenous organizations in the Madidi Landscape.
  • The Madidi Landscape is one of the most biodiverse terrestrial protected areas in the world, where scientists have recorded the most plant, butterfly, bird and mammal species.
  • The new fund, announced Oct. 30, has so far attracted $650,000 in initial support from the Bezos Earth Fund.

A new fund, announced Oct. 30, plans to support the territorial land management visions of four Indigenous organizations in Bolivia’s Madidi Landscape. It has so far attracted $650,000 in initial support from the Bezos Earth Fund, and more funding from several other sources is now being explored.

“We want these funds to help us move forward,” said Gonzalo Oliver Terrazas, president of the regional organization of Indigenous People of La Paz (CPILAP) and member of the Tacana community. “It will help us reaffirm our strong commitment as Indigenous peoples to advance and to carry out territorial management responsibly, for the territories and our future generations.”

According to Lilian Painter, the director of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in Bolivia, the money collected will enable the Tacana, Lecos, T’simane Mosetene and San José de Uchupiamonas Indigenous communities in Madidi to secure their land rights and livelihoods collectively. In addition, it will help them continue to conserve and protect portions of the Madidi Landscape that overlap with their territories from encroaching threats, such as illegal gold mining, as laid out in their territorial management plans.

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