08/18/2023
The forests of the Bolivian Amazon are depleting at an alarming rate. Their condition is dire as they face multiple threats to biodiversity. Developmental activities like road construction demand the clearing of large swathes of trees to make way for the Rurrenabaque-Riberalta route, which is being constructed through the northern Amazonian region of Bolivia. This road, undertaken by a Chinese company, spans 508 kilometers and is one of the longest sections being built in the country.
While this may seem like a step in the right direction to some, the Indigenous defenders of the Earth’s lungs are concerned about how it’s going to cause incorrigible destruction. The construction of the road will disturb the balance of flora and fauna and adversely impact the wetlands of the region. The experts say that any alteration to the flow of water in these wetlands may result in serious degradation of feeding and reproduction patterns of various species.
The Bolivian guardians of the rainforests are striving to protect their lands from large-scale agriculture and illegal mining. Despite their relentless efforts, an area equivalent to 1,057 soccer fields disappears each day. This rampant deforestation is accompanied by forest fires, river contamination from mining, and the encroachment of drug trafficking.
These invisible forest defenders face obstacles like defamation cases, threats from illegal loggers, and miners who work in tandem to halt their efforts. But this doesn’t shake their spirit and they continue to protect their Indigenous culture, Amazon’s biodiversity, and, in turn, the Earth.
Read the project “Bolivia’s Invisible Amazon and its Guardians who Do Not Give Up” by Pulitzer Center Amazon Rainforest Journalism Fund grantee Roberto Navia and photos by RJF grantees Karina Segovia and Lisa Corti for Revista Nómadas.
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Los bosques de la Amazonia boliviana se están agotando a un ritmo alarmante. Su estado es crítico, ya que se enfrentan a múltiples amenazas para la biodiversidad. La ruta Rurrenabaque-Riberalta, que está en construcción exigen la tala de grandes extensiones de bosques amazónicos del norte de Bolivia.
Los pueblos indígenas que defienden y protegen este territorio están preocupados por daño incorregible que la construcción de esta carretera va a ocasionar. Ellos temen por que se destruya el equilibrio de la flora, la fauna y humedales de esta región. Expertos afirman que cualquier alteración del flujo de agua en estos humedales puede provocar una grave degradación de los patrones de alimentación y reproducción de diversas especies.
Además de los evidentes daños que va a ocasionar esta mega carretera, estos defensores de la Amazonía se enfrentan a multiples amenazas por parte de la agricultura a gran escala, la minería ilegal, tala ilegal y el narcotráfico. En Bolivia desaparecen diariamente bosques equivalentes a más de 1.000 campos de fútbol a causa de estas actividades.
The world's largest tropical rainforest, in Bolivia, is in danger: It is the victim of illegal deforestation and forest fires that destroy an average of 300,000 hectares of forest annually; of drug...