It has been 2 years since the declaration of Bruno Racua Wildlife Reserve in the Bolivian Amazon

• 68 species of reptiles, with one new species for Bolivia
• 73 species of amphibians, with one new sighting for Pando, one new sighting for Bolivia and one new species for science
• 126 species of fish, with 53 new sightings for Pando
• 398 species of birds, with 15 new sightings for Pando
• 74 species of mammals, with 2 new sightings for Pando and two new sightings for Bolivia
• 1,098 species of plants (of these, 27 are new species for Bolivia and 2 new species for science belonging to the Bactris genre)

With 74,054 ha, the Bruno Racua Wildlife Reserve is Bolivia’s youngest protected area and encompasses an area of indescribable biological richness. It is a national protected area and is regionally administered by the Decentralized Unit for the Administration of Protected Areas (referred to as Udaap in Bolivia) dependent upon the Prefecture of Pando.

Bruno Racua Wildlife Reserve was declared through National Law Nr. 3158 on August 25th 2005, aiming to conserve and preserve the natural and cultural patrimony of the Bolivian Amazon, promote the sound management and sustainable use of its natural resources, and contribute in protecting the richest and most representative of Bolivia’s biodiversity.

As historical background, the Reserve carries the name of a national hero, Mr. Bruno Racua, belonging to the tacana indigenous people, who during the Battle of Bahía, which took place during the conflict with Acre in 1902, led the Bolivian troops against the Brazilian army, and, using unsophisticated weapons, such as bows and arrows, were able to defeat the enemy and recover the Bahía Port (nowadays the city of Cobija).

Background:

• The Reserve is located in the Bolivian Amazon, at the north eastern edge of the Department of Pando, Federico Roman Province, where the Abuná and Mamoré rivers – which act as borders between Bolivia and Brazil – join to form the Madeira River.
• When referring to the Reserve’s categorization, this relates to the fact that in 1997 the Pando Land Use Plan (PLUS) provisionally declared and recommended that the Federico Román Natural Immobilized Reserve be set aside for future designation as a protected area due to its high biological value. And, in 2002, the Rapid Biological Inventory confirmed its biological value and singularity due to its impressive richness in terms of plants and animals. Based on this pre-existing legal framework, the Bruno Racua Reserve was created in August 2005 through Law Nr. 3158.
• The Pando Land Use Plan defines the creation of two Immobilized Reserves. With the creation of Bruno Racua, Pando now has two protected areas: the aforementioned and Manuripi National Amazon Wildlife Reserve.
• Participatory management in the Reserve
  One of the mechanisms through which communities participate in the management of protected areas are the Management Councils, made up of representatives from the most representative sectors from the protected area. This is also the case with the Bruno Racua Reserve that has an active Management Council in which representatives from the Municipality of Nueva Esperanza participate as well as communities, university, a private company, NGOs, Prefecture and Bruno Racua Wildlife Reserve.
• WWF Bolivia’s support to Bruno Racua Protected Area
  With Moore Foundation (WWF US) funding, WWF supports the management of this protected area regarding staff, infrastructure and equipment, creation of the Management Council and Management Plan elaboration.