The mission of Armonía is to conserve Bolivia’s birds and their habitats, creating a country where wildlife and people can thrive
We are achieving this by establishing protected areas, empowering local and indigenous people, running educational campaigns and carrying out scientific research.
Find out more about our conservation achievements in Bolivia:
- Creating protected areas
- Empowering local and indigenous people
- Campaigning against the illegal parrot trade
- Raising awareness and educating
- Scientific research
Creating protected areas
Armonía is creating nature reserves across Bolivia to save the country’s wilderness and wildlife from destruction.
Protecting land from development is the best way to save ecosystems – it safeguards all the interdependent animals and plants that need each other to survive.
This creates a thriving environment for people too, as it protects the natural resources that communities depend upon.
Only by securing land for conservation can we save life on Earth.
Our two main protected areas are the Red-fronted Macaw Nature Reserve in south-central Bolivia and the Barba Azul Nature Reserve in the north. The reserves are the only safe havens in the world for these endangered macaws, as well as a wealth of other wildlife like Pumas, Jaguars and Giant Anteaters.
Our smaller protected areas are the Palkachupa Nature Reserve in the north-west and the Tucuman Amazon Nature Reserve in the south.
Find out more about our nature reserves »
Empowering local and indigenous people
Armonía is committed to empowering local and indigenous people; we believe that nature’s protection can create improved livelihoods and living standards for some of the world’s poorest people.
One of our most established collaborative programs is with Quechua communities in south-central Bolivia.
By working in collaboration with three Quechua communities, we have created a nature reserve to protect the most important breeding site of the Bolivian endemic and endangered Red-fronted Macaw.
We established a community-run ecotourism project at the reserve, where bird watchers, wildlife photographers and nature lovers can become immersed in the beauty of the Andean valleys.
The profits from the ecotourism are divided equally among the communities and we are helping them diversify their income further through honey and papaya production.
The Red-fronted Macaw program is empowering the Quechua indigenous people through entrepreneurship, while generating a direct financial benefit from conserving the macaws and their habitat.
Find out more about the Red-fronted Macaw program »
Campaigning against the illegal parrot trade
Campaigning against the illegal parrot tradeArmonía launches nationwide campaigns to tackle the illegal trade of parrots in Bolivia, to secure the survival of three threatened species: the Blue-throated Macaw, Red-fronted Macaw and the Tucaman Parrot.
Our most successful, far-reaching campaign has significantly reduced the trade in Blue-throated Macaw.
When we started working in the Beni region in 2002 to conserve the Blue-throated Macaw, this Critically Endangered parrot was being driven to extinction by poaching for the illegal pet trade.
Our nationwide campaign reached thousands of school children and adults through hundreds of workshops and presentations.
Thanks to this ongoing work, it is very rare for Blue-throated Macaws to be captured from the wild.
The Blue-throated Macaw is now the pride of the Beni region and in 2014 the Bolivian government declared it a national heritage species, giving it greater legal protection.
Find out more about the Blue-throated Macaw program »
Raising awareness and educating
Each of our programs has a strong educational element, ensuring that local people understand and engage with conservation issues in their region.
One of our most successful programs is saving the Cochabamba Mountain-Finch.
This finch is an Endangered species and a Bolivian endemic, whose population stronghold is in Cordillera de Cochabamba of central Bolivia.
The region is heavily impacted by intensive agriculture and the introduction of several exotic tree species – such as eucalyptus and pines – that degrade soil quality.
We have carried out intensive education activities to raise awareness of the important ecosystem services provided by the native Polylepis forests. We focus our work on two communities to help them reforest areas not suitable for agriculture and to protect water canals from landslides.
Find out more about the Cochabamba Mountain-Finch program »
Scientific research
Armonía is a leader in the scientific research of birds in Bolivia, maintaining the largest database of bird observations in the country.
We have published the first Estado de Conservación de las Aves de Bolivia report and will soon be publishing the country’s first field guide to the birds of Bolivia.
This field guide promises to be an essential educational tool to introduce Bolivian’s to their natural heritage and to spur greater tourism to Bolivia by attracting birdwatchers.
Our research also includes conducting two extensive migratory shorebird studies in the department of Beni in 2009 and 2010 and carrying out yearly shorebird monitoring in the Barba Azul Nature Reserve, with an emphasis on the Buff-breasted Sandpiper.
We have conducted population monitoring programs on the Titicaca Grebe, Masked Antpitta, Andean Condor, Horned Curassow, Wattled Curassow, Red-fronted Macaw, and the Blue-throated Macaw.
Thank you for your support
We thank our international partners and individual donors for the conservation achievements in Bolivia – we cannot save threatened species or support our people without your generous funding. Thank you.
