Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity

On average, the Yungas region concentrates 35 per cent of the diversity and represents only 4 per cent of the national territory [ ] 64 Framework of Mother Earth and Integral Development to ‘Live Well’ Bolivia has implemented the law of “Mother Earth and Integral Devel- opment to Live Well”, which has been approved as a framework law and is constituted in a way that will give birth to specific legal norms, for instance in the forest, water, environment, mining, and hydrocar- bon sectors. The law defines ‘Living Well’ as the civilizing and cultural horizon alternative to capitalism, which means the construction of a new environmental, social, cultural and economic order based on, and emerging from, the historical vision of indigenous peoples. In 2013, a supreme decree was ap- proved to regulate the functioning of the Plurinational Authority of Mother Earth and its operating mechanisms. One of these mechanisms seeks to promote the integral management and sustainable use of the forests and life systems of Mother Earth, together with the conservation, protection and restoration of life systems, biodiversi- ty and environmental functions, in a context of mitigation and adaptation to climate change. The mechanism operates from the ascription of terri- torial initiatives that implement the integral and sustainable management of forests and Mother Earth. Various programmes and projects have been implemented that promote the integral management of the ter- ritory where the biodiversity compo- nent is fundamental. Among these are the National Bioculture Pro- gramme; Andean Vertical Ecosystem Programme; and the Biodiversity Conservation Project through the Sustainable Management of Forests by local actors. It is now evident that a new type of forest resources plan- ning instrument has been generated. The implementation of Compre- hensive Forest and Land Manage- ment Plans consists of the zoning of territorial space as well as ordered programming for the execution of activities — forest, agricultural, agroforestry, silvopastoral, ecotour- ism, preservation of environmental functions, and management of water resources — to be developed by com- munities. The master plan of the Nation- al System of Protected Areas was approved in 2012 and defines the main areas of management. Under this political framework, the system is set to expand in area, mainly from the creation of new subnational areas Protected areas currently account for 23 per cent of national territory and constitute a sample of the great biological and cultural diversity of the country. B olivia is among fifteen countries worldwide boasting the greatest biodiversity, thanks to its altitudinal gradient that oscillates between 90 and 6,542m. It represents 0.2 per cent of the world’s surface and houses around 40 per cent of the world’s biological diversity recorded so far. This is recognized in the political constitution of the Plurinational State of Bolivia as a strategic resource for the ‘Living Well’ of the population. At species level, Bolivia is among the eleven countries with the greatest richness of plant and species, and among the ten countries with the greatest diversity of birds and mammals. It occupies the fourth place worldwide in butterfly wealth. In addition, it is among the thirteen countries with the greatest wealth of amphibian species and among eleven with the greatest diversity of freshwater fish, where 6 per cent of all known species are represented. Flamingoes on Laguna Colorada, a shallow salt lake in the southwest of the altiplano of Bolivia Pedro Szekely on flickr Bolivia (Plurinational State of)