Isiboro Sécure National Park and Indigenous Territory

The Indigenous Reserve and National Park Isiboro -Secure ( Territorio Indígena y parque nacional Isiboro Sécure, TIPNIS ) is a nature reserve in Bolivia. It was established as a national park by the DS 7401 of 22 November 1965, declared on 24 September 1990 to the indigenous territory. This was a result of the struggles of indigenous peoples of the region to their country. It is about 12,363 km ² ( 1,236,296 ha) in size and protects a portion of the biologically highly diverse Bolivian Yungas. The country is now one of three indigenous groups ( Yuracaré, Moxeño and Chimán ) and is under their management.

The area is located east of La Paz on the edge of the Amazon rainforest. It is located between the Beni department ( province Moxos ) and the Department of Cochabamba ( Chapare province ). The associated communities are San Ignacio de Moxos, Loreto en el Beni, Villa Tunari and Orochata in Cochabamba.

• 2.1 Laguna Bolivia

Geography

Climate

The climate varies depending on the altitude of cold and temperate in the highlands to warm in the lowlands. The annual average temperature is between 15 ° C ( in the mountains ), 32 ° C ( forested in the central plains) and 25 ° C in the Pampas of Moxos in the north.

The annual rainfall can vary depending on the location: in the north it can be 1900 mm ( the confluence of the Río Río Isiboro and Secure) and 3500 mm in the southeast near Puerto Patino. In 80 % of the area vary the annual rainfall between 2000 mm and 3000 mm. In the winter months there may be cold waves from the south, resulting in a decrease in rainfall result.

Height gradient

The National Park Isiboro -Secure lies at an altitude 180-3000 meters. The average altitude is 300 to 400 meters. The south and west are mountainous with steep slopes and include the mountains of Mosetenes and Sajeruma as an extension of the lower Andes.

River system

The area lies within the catchment area of the Mamoré and one of its major tributaries, the river Sécure, empties into the turn of the Río Isiboro. The Sécure located north and south of the Isiboro TIPNIS and both are passable. The Río Ichoa empties into the Isiboro and crosses the TIPNIS. The rivers Isiboro, Sécure and Ichoa are the most important transport and communication axes of the region.

Flora and Fauna

402 plant species were recorded in the National Park, including species such as Podocarpus ( Podocarpus spp.), A walnut tree species ( Juglans boliviana ), the Cedrela species Cedrela lilloi and West Indian Zedrele ( Cedrela odorata ) and palm species, for example, Euterpe precatoria, Geonoma deversa, Dictyocaryum lamarckianum and Buriti Palm ( Mauritia flexuosa ).

The fauna is also very diverse, 714 species have been recorded. The area is also home to rare species such as spectacled bear ( Tremarctos ornatus ), jaguar (Panthera onca ), giant otter ( Pteronura brasiliensis) and Harpy Eagle ( Harpia harpyja ).

Laguna Bolivia

The laguna Bolivia is also an ideal place for wildlife viewing and reach in the rainy season with the boat. In the dry season you can get from the communities of Dulce Nombre or Limoncito there.

Planned road

The Bolivian President Evo Morales and his former counterpart Lula da Silva have 2009 old plans for the construction of the highway Ruta 24 resumes, which will connect the Amazon lowlands to the mountains. This street is intended to contribute to the economic development of Bolivia and would facilitate the transport of goods in the Pacific. The middle route of the road, however, would cut through the TIPNIS. Thus, according to critics of having easy access to the National Park for illegal loggers, oil companies and shifting cultivation farmers would be operated together. The road was threatening the rainforest and the traditional living peoples of the TIPNIS. A report by the Bolivian authorities for road construction ( ABC) assumes, however, that the construction would affect only the deforestation annual rate of 0.03%. The government argued even that road is an important instrument to combat illegal logging in TIPNIS.

The construction of the road was decided without the necessary environmental assessments and also without prior consultation with the residents of the park. 2010 were the indigenous efforts to postpone by one year. 2011, the first third of the road has been approved and construction started first. With the start of a protest march of the indigenous people on August 15, 2011 in the direction of La Paz, the three peoples of the TIPNIS resisted any route that would cut through their territory. On September 25, security forces broke one built during the protest march camp at Yucumo violently, although there were many injured. President Morales condemned then not only the police action, but decided also calls for a referendum and the freeze of the road.

In the first October days then a law was passed at the behest of the ruling party MAS, in which the special ecological significance of TIPNIS - area is also pointed out how the protection of indigenous peoples living there. The TIPNIS protection law enshrined in Article 3 is an absolute prohibition of mutilation. "It is decreed that neither the road Villa Tunari - San Ignacio de Moxos still traverse another the indigenous territory and national park Isiboro Sécure " Article 1 declares the area the size of Jamaica to the " untouchable zone ". On 27 November 2011, the protection of the region has been clarified in another law, especially the future use of the TIPNIS region.