Cover image: Bolivia boasts a wide range of ecosystems and ecological regions within its territory.
On the occasion of the World Nature Protection Day, biologist Diego A. Peñaranda gave an interview in which he addressed fundamental issues related to Bolivia’s biodiversity and the relevance of the Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) in preserving its natural wealth.
Biodiversity, according to Peñaranda, is a concept that includes the variety of life forms in nature, including species diversity, genetic variability within each species, and even ecosystems variability. In the Bolivian context, this concept is of special importance because Bolivia is home of many species of agricultural importance, such as the high diversity of potatoes, which are fundamental in the Bolivian people’s diet, and are the main source of income for many andean communities.
Bolivia is in a privileged geographical context, as it contains a wide range of ecosystems and ecological regions. From the mountains and highlands to the Amazon, passing through the inter-Andean dry valleys, the Chaco, the Chiquitanía and Pantanal. Such variety of ecoregions places Bolivia among the top 20 most biodiverse countries in the world, with 5,896 species of flora, fauna, invertebrates, and fungi cataloged and evaluated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a figure that is also being updated.
However, biodiversity faces multiple and serious threats. According to Asociación Armonía’s KBA Program Coordinator for Bolivia, Peñaranda, factors such as land use change, habitat loss mainly due to deforestation, pollution and fires, or the introduction of invasive species and climate change jeopardize many wild populations of native flora and fauna, and their habitats. According to the IUCN, 63 species in Bolivia are currently classified as critically endangered, 145 as endangered and 270 as vulnerable. In addition, another 160 species are listed as near threatened. In other words, 1 out of every 10 known species of flora and fauna in Bolivia are, to some degree, at the brink of extinction.
Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) play a critical role in protecting biodiversity. These areas are scientifically identified as the most important sites for ensuring the long-term survival of native species and ecosystems. They complement protected areas or other forms of conservation in the country and, fundamentally, foster the coexistence between nature and local communities’ and indigenous peoples’ activities. Moreover, once identified KBAs are available online for governments, private companies, major banks, and funders to be aware about such places and to take measures to prevent negative impacts on them, thus safeguarding people’s natural heritage.
Bolivia currently has 65 KBAs protecting its biodiversity. However, updating a KBA and identifying new ones require the best available and updated scientific evidence on threatened or restricted species and ecosystems, as well as a minimum knowledge about their reproductive populations. This is an even greater challenge for Bolivia because it needs to encourage, to promote and to support scientific research on biodiversity.
“Biodiversity in its best state of conservation is the foundation of ecosystem services. Such services constitute the benefits we receive from nature, for instance: climate regulation, obtaining raw materials, the possibility of finding new medicines or the avoidance of emerging diseases, among others, and which are directly related to human wellbeing. Biodiversity also plays a critical role in nations’ food security, since it protects the productive capacity of soils, contributes to the pollination of crops, protects watersheds and contributes to the avoidance of natural disasters. Society must therefore realize that our livelihoods and wellbeing critically depend on biodiversity”, says Peñaranda. In other words biodiversity conservation is essential to ensure us a sustainable future.
On this World Nature Protection Day, a call is made for raising awareness and to take collective action to preserve the natural wealth that Bolivia possesses, therefore ensuring a prosperous future for future generations. Under such endeavors KBAs constitute a fundamental element of the strategy for preserving Bolivian biodiversity and Bolivians’ livelihoods.
Photo: Diego Peñaranda on an expedition in search of the Huemul in 2019 on Riesco Island (Chile).