San José de Chiquitos hosted the Great Workshop for the Governance and Conservation of Protected Areas
(San José de Chiquitos, July 23 and 24, 2025)
San José de Chiquitos hosted the eighth edition of the Great Workshop of the Association of Management Committees for Protected Areas of the Chaco, Chiquitania, Pantanal, and Southern Amazon, a key event in the fight for the conservation and management of natural resources in Bolivia. This activity, which has been held annually for almost eight years, was organized this time thanks to the collaboration between the NGO SAVIA and the Bolivian Catholic University San Pablo, Santa Cruz Campus.
The workshop brought together diverse stakeholders from the local and national levels, notably including members of management committees, members of environmental protection agencies, council members from San José de Chiquitos, and technicians from partner institutions. These participants reported on the Association's most significant progress in terms of environmental impact. Among the most important achievements was the presentation of the approved municipal law for the management and protection of water resources in the municipality of San José de Chiquitos, a milestone that underscores the region's commitment to the sustainability of its ecosystems. Furthermore, recognition was given to the technicians and local stakeholders who have played a fundamental role in making these advances a reality.
One of the most important moments of the workshop was the official presentation of the website of the Association of Management Committees, by SAVIA, which represents an advance in the visibility and accessibility of information related to the management of protected areas in the region.
The event also served to showcase the progress made in developing territorial governance instruments for the Chiquitano region, presented by UCB and Central Turubó. Among the highlights were the implementation of community regulations, the formalization of legal entities, and the creation of a regulatory protocol, all within a context that seeks to raise the region's international profile.
DICOPAN, represented by Dr. Bertha García Coronado, presented the model statute of the UCPN Santa Cruz la Vieja, which has been worked on jointly with the Association, adapting to the new parameters established by Departmental Law 309.
On the other hand, the FCBC (Foundation for Biodiversity Conservation and Growth) presented its new “Guide to Wild Fruits”, highlighting their importance in the development of sustainable value chains, and the “Guide to Restoration and Water Use Alternatives”, which are emerging as key tools for the comprehensive management of natural resources.
One of the most relevant aspects of the workshop was the holding of working groups in which the management committees were able to update the information of their protected areas and propose strategies for the next years of management, in a context of increasingly evident threats, such as deforestation and climate change.
It is important to highlight the crucial financial support of organizations such as the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, the Green Livelihoods Alliance, the National Committee of the Netherlands, and VLIR-UOS through the UCB's CReA Project, whose collaboration is fundamental to the continuity of these initiatives. This funding has enabled large-scale projects, such as the creation of a territorial governance network and the implementation of public conservation policies, to be carried out successfully.