Amboró National Park
Date of creation
Initially created in 1973, the park was originally established as the Reserva de Vida Silvestre German Busch in 1984 but, with the help of the native biologist Noel Kempff, British zoologist Robin Clark and others, the park was expanded to its actual size in 1991.[1]
Description & Geography
Amboro National Park, covering an area of over 630,000 hectares in the western part of Santa Cruz State, within the denominated “Elbow of the Andes”, where the Eastern Cordillera ends its temporary westward course to regain a north-south axis. It lies within three distinct ecosystems: the foothills of the Andes, the northern Chaco and the Amazon Basin. Amboro is a national protected area nearby the Santa Cruz, and one of the most visited parks in Bolivia.
Its attractions are determined by the peculiar features of its geography and by its biological makeup, both of them influenced by the cordillera’s direction, and letting the development of a great variety of flora and fauna. Its altitude ranges from 300 up to allowing 3500 meters above sea level and annual rainfall ranges between 1400 and 4000 mm. Amboro stands out because of its vast biogeography. Besides holding some of the southernmost expressions of the Yungas forests, it is also a meeting point for the biological systems of the Chaco, the Amazon and the Andes.[2]
Access
The area is bordered north and south by two roads that connect the cities of Cochabamba and Santa Cruz. The southern road, built in the 1950’s and once asphalted, was left decaying after the opening of the northern route in the 1980’s. Today it has returned to gravel and dirt, limiting traffic and commercial exchange on this side of Carrasco and Amboro National Park.
These two roads are the starting point of many secondary ones, allowing easy access to the most developed parts of the Northern and Southern IMNAs (Integrated Management Natural Area). Small trails and river beds permit the access to the National Park, although the rough topography only allows limited incursions. The principal access point to the Northern Zone are the towns of Buena Vista, Santa Fe, and Yapacani, along the new Cochabamba-Santa Cruz road - from which several dirt tracks lead penetrate all across the IMNA (Espejitos, Saguayó, La Chonta, Macuñucu) - and the Yapacani river during the rainy season. In the Southern Zone, the principal access points are also secondary roads principally departing from towns located on the main highway (El Torno, Samaipata, Mairana, Pampa Grande, Mataral, and Comarapa), relayed by secondary tracks and small trails. [3]
History
Since 1973, year of its creation, the park’s rules and boundaries have been revised several times:
In 1984, the area was redefined as a national park and set its size to 180,000 ha. In 1989, from the town of Buena Vista and with a very limited budget, the Decentralized Unit of the Santa Cruz Forest Development Center took charge of the park’s first management, consisting essentially in flora and fauna inventories, a census of the park’s human population and a few information campaigns. This period saw the construction of the Mataracú, Saguayo, La Chonta, and Macuñucú ranger stations, administered by a liaison office, 10 park rangers, material and equipment. With support from TNC’s Parks in Peril (PiP) program, the Fundación Amigos de la Naturaleza (FAN) took part in the management of the park’s Southern Zone, with offices in Samaipata and Comarapa.
In 1991, with its first significant grant, FAN formed a management committee, with headquarters in Buena Vista, the CDF being officially in charge of the area’s management. That same year, the park size was extended to 637,000 ha without prior consultation of the local population and disregarding legitimate private properties, a move which triggered serious protests and a continued resistance against the park.
With funding from the Regional Alternative Development Program (Programa de Desarrollo Alternativo Regional - PDAR), a consensus was finally reached with the establishment of two different management categories, indicated on the ground by a so-called "Red Line", a narrow trail that marks the boundary between the National Park and the Integrated Management Natural Zone (IMNA), effectively a Multiple Use Zone.
In 1994, FAN was selected by the newly created Ministry of Sustainable Development and Environment to supervise the drafting of the area’s management plan. The Red Line was officially approved in 1995, allotting 442,500 ha to the national park and 195,100 ha to the IMNA, divided in various patches. Local conflicts have since forced a constant redefinition of limits, so the exact boundaries between the two categories are not precisely known.
In 1995, the National Directorate for Biodiversity Conservation (Dirección Nacional de Conservación de la Biodiversidad - DNCB, today’s SERNAP), the administration in charge of the country’s protected areas decided to reclaim supervision of the area. Despite the signings of a contract between DNCB and FAN for the co-administration of the area, since this date the government has been solely in charge of the protected area. [4]
Flora
Until now, 2659 plant species have been registered in Amboro NP-IMNA. Some of the most noteworthy tree species are bigleaf mahogany, mountain pine, nogal, limachu, khellu khellu, cebillo, bibosi, ambaiba, pacay, clavo rojo. A particular remarkable feature of the area is the presence of extensive patches of giant arboreal ferns in the cloud forests. In addition, we note the presence of pachiuva, asaí palms and several species of endemic orchids. [5]
Fauna
127 species of mammals have been registered; among them 43 species of bats. Among the large mammals we find the Andean bear or jucumari, the jaguar or American tiger, bear flag (ant eater bear). The park presents a high level of endemism, 105 species of amphibians among which 50 species are toads.
There are 812 species of fowl; two of the most interesting being “Pava del copete” and military parrot. There are many species of endemicsfowl which survive in the park. The number of bird species observed within the area exceeds 840, or more than 60% of the country’s total. Finally, talking about fish diversity, 109 species have been identified by the IMNA alone, with a clear dependence on altitude. The largest specimens, which are the principal targets of commercial and subsistence fishing - such as sábalo, barred surubim, and pacú - are restricted to the alluvial plains, below 700 m. Above just 1000 m, the fish diversity diminishes dramatically. [6]
Human Population
North area, colonial settlements originated from the high lands. The region with the southern boundary is inhabited by peasants from the valleys of the department; while toward the east Guarayas communities are settled. Surrounding the area are colorful towns like: Samaipata, Comarapa and Buena Vista. [7]
References
- ^ Template:Es icon Suarez Morales, Ovidio (22 February 2007). "Parques Nacionales y afines de Bolivia".
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Template:Es icon Cuellar Chavez, Bismarck A. (23 May 2006). "Gran documental y atlas de Bolivia". Geografia, historia y vida.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Template:Es icon Cuellar Chavez, Bismarck A. (05 April 2006). "Guía de viaje: Santa Cruz, Turismo y Cultura".
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Template:Es icon "Parque Nacional Amboro". Periódico Nacional “El Deber”. 30 September 2007.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Template:Es icon "Parque Nacional Amboro". Periódico Nacional “El Deber”. 30 September 2007.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Template:Es icon "Parque Nacional Amboro". Periódico Nacional “El Deber”. 30 September 2007.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Template:Es icon "Facetas de la transformación experimentadas por las comarcas de la llanura descubiertas por los españoles". Revista de Colección: Santa Cruz, 500 años después. 26 April 2007.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|date=(help)
External links
- Derksen, Jonathan Amboro National Park, Bolivia Orbitz Away LLC;
- Amboró National Park Bolivia Contact (2001);
English:
Spanish: