Madidi legacy landscape made notable efforts to achieve substantial progress in advancing fundamental environmental and social action plan (ESAP) measures and enhancing provisions for environmental and social safeguards. In the first two years of program implementation, 57% of the measures have been implemented, 29% are well underway, and 14% were initiated.
Stakeholder engagement
- Developed a stakeholder engagement plan and a gender action plan.
- Provided training on the stakeholder engagement plan, gender equity, and human rights for program staff.
- Reactivated functioning of the Madidi protected area management committee.
Improved grievance mechanism
- Complemented the existing grievance redress mechanism with an internal reporting system.
- Built capacity on the grievance mechanism among Madidi National Park staff and stakeholders.
- Provided legal assistance for park rangers facing litigation and physical threats due to performing their official duties.
Tourism Support
- Supported the Sustainable Tourism Council, two Indigenous ecolodges renovations, and conflict resolution between Indigenous tourism initiatives.
- Worked with the Bolivian conservation fund to establish a rotating fund to support ecotourism initiatives in the landscape, benefitting 10 operators to date.
- Assisted the reactivation of tourism through the Tourism Council of the Rurrenabaque-Madidi-Pampas destination, and the renewal of the Biosphere sustainable tourism certification.
Land Management
- Reached an agreement with SERNAP to update the Madidi management plan by regions, beginning with the areas overlapping the protected area and Indigenous lands.
- Provided financial and technical support to Indigenous territories overlapping and neighboring protected areas, including support for joint protection plans and the strengthening of community-based monitoring programs aligned with protected area monitoring efforts.
Indigenous Peoples’ rights
- Fostered Indigenous self-determination rights by directly transferring resources to Indigenous organizations with sufficient administrative capacity for the implementation of activities within the Tacana, Tsimane Mosetene, San Jose de Uchupiamonas and Lecos Apolo Indigenous lands.
- Supported Tacana people representative organizations work to consolidate land tenure rights leading to the recognition of 16,000 hectares of Indigenous land.
- Established a direct access fund to support Indigenous territorial management in collaboration with the Bolivian conservation fund FUNDESNAP.
Cutural heritage
- Advanced cultural heritage assessment through an innovative cultural heritage tool under an agreement between the Tacana and Tsimane Mosetene People, WCS and the University of Bonn.
Wildfire prevention and mitigation
- Supported Park guards and assisted Indigenous communities in controlling forest fires with the provision of firefighting equipment and basic equipment for the park guards of Madidi, Pilon Lajas and Apolobamba.
Improved working conditions for rangers
- Provided trainings, including on respect for human rights and Indigenous Peoples and developed a manual and training curriculum on addressing illicit activities in protected areas.
- Began implementing occupational health and safety improvements through the maintenance of the park guard headquarters.
Communication and information disclosure
- RFI Planète Radio supported the training of Indigenous communicators, reporters, and park rangers to produce audiovisual materials, aiming to gather testimonies and stories from communities depicting their reality and contributions to conservation.
- Provided training, support and funding to a network of young Indigenous communicators with Central de Pueblos Indígenas de La Paz (CPILAP).
- Created microsites on the SERNAP and WCS website in 2023 and used WCS Bolivia Facebook page for information disclosure on the Madidi landscape program.