Isiboro Sécure National Park and Indigenous Territory (Territorio Indígena y Parque Nacional Isiboro Secure, TIPNIS) is a protected area and Native Community Land in Bolivia located between the north of the Cochabamba Department and the south of the Beni Department (Chapare, Moxos, and Marbán provinces). This area helps protect a part of the Bolivian Yungas ecoregion. The indigenous people living within the park belong to the Tsimané, Yuracaré, and Mojeño-Trinitario peoples. The southern portion of the park has been settled by agricultural farmers, mainly coca growers, since the 1970s. The Bolivian government estimates that 10% of the park has been deforested due to their presence.

Establishment

The park was designated as a National Park through Supreme Decree 7401 on November 22, 1965. It was officially named Native Community Land by Supreme Decree 22610 on September 24, 1990, after efforts by local indigenous people and the March for Territory and Dignity, organized by the Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of the Bolivian East. Indigenous residents formed the Subcentral Indígena del TIPNIS (Subcentral TIPNIS) in July 1988. After work by the National Agrarian Reform Institute (INRA), a collective land title for the Isiboro Securé TCO, covering 1,091,656 hectares, was given to the Subcentral TIPNIS on June 13, 2009. Approximately 124,000 hectares within the park were allocated to agrarian colonists, mostly in the southern Polygon 7. An additional 137,783 hectares are owned by ranchers in the Beni department portion of the park.

Ecology

The territory includes four major ecosystems:

• Flooded savannas of the Moxos plain or llano, which have different types of land shapes and are similar to the llanos of Colombia and the Pantanal in southeast Bolivia
• Sub-Andean Amazonian forest
• Pre-Andean Amazonian forest
• Bolivian-Peruvian Yungas

Wildlife

Species that have not yet been identified are not included in these numbers.

• There are 218 species of mammals.
• There are 992 species of birds.
• There are 157 species of amphibians.
• There are 131 species of reptiles.

Population

TIPNIS is home to three indigenous groups who have lived there for many generations. According to the 2001 census, there were 12,388 indigenous people living in 64 communities: 1,809 from the Yuracaré people; 4,228 from the Trinitario-Mojeño people; and 6,351 from the Chimane people.

In the area that has been settled by people from other regions, there are about 20,000 families who are part of 52 agrarian unions. These unions are grouped into 8 central organizations, called centrales. These groups belong to the Federation of the Tropic of Cochabamba, which is one of the Six Federations, a larger group that includes the Chapare coca growers' union.

Geography

The area is part of the Mamoré River's water flow, which is part of the Amazon Basin. The Sécure River is a main branch of the Mamoré River, and the Isiboro River flows into the Sécure. Both the Sécure and Isiboro rivers flow through TIPNIS. The Sécure is in the northern part of the park, and the Isiboro is in the southern part. The Ichoa River, which is a branch of the Isiboro, flows through the center of the park and receives water from smaller streams. The areas drained by the Sécure and Isiboro rivers belong to the Yungas Mountainous Humid Forest and Madeira Humid Forest ecosystems.

The Isiboro, Sécure, and Ichoa rivers are the main routes for transportation in the region. Visitors use these rivers to reach the park's attractions. These rivers are also part of the scenery seen by visitors and are used for boat travel. The rivers are home to many of the park's animals, especially pink river dolphins.

Laguna Bolivia is an important place for watching wildlife. It can be reached by boat, which enters from the Sécure River through the Black arroyo during high water season. It can also be reached by walking or riding a horse from the communities of Dulce Nombre or Limoncito. There is no official dock where tourists can board boats for the water route. The land route goes through the southern settled area of TIPNIS, following the road from Isinuta to Aroma.

Environmental threats

TIPNIS has lost a lot of its forest, especially in an area outside the park’s red line called Polygon 7. This area has had farming and settlement since the 1970s. If this trend continues, 43% of TIPNIS’s forest could disappear by 2030.

The park was chosen as the location for Segment Two of the Villa Tunari–San Ignacio de Moxos Highway, which would connect the Cochabamba and Beni regions directly. Though the highway was discussed for many years, a $332 million loan from Brazil’s National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), approved by Bolivia in 2011, made construction possible. The total cost of the project is $415 million, and it spans 306 kilometers in three parts: Segment I (47 km from Villa Tunari to Isinuta), Segment II (177 km from Isinuta to Monte Grande), and Segment III (82 km from Monte Grande to San Ignacio de Moxos). In May 2010, a meeting of TIPNIS leaders and local officials expressed strong opposition to the project. In June 2011, President Evo Morales officially started the project with a ceremony in Villa Tunari. However, no final plans or environmental approvals have been completed for Segment Two. In July 2011, TIPNIS leaders, the Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of Bolivia, and CONAMAQ announced they would join a national march from Villa Tunari to La Paz to oppose the highway.

A major concern is that the highway could speed up forest loss. A study by Bolivia’s Program for Strategic Investigation in Bolivia (PIEB) said highways often cause deforestation. The study predicted that the road could leave 64% of TIPNIS deforested by 2030. A report by Bolivia’s Highway Administration (ABC) said the road itself would cause only 0.03% of direct deforestation. President Morales mentioned that the road would lead to 180 hectares of forest loss, an area equal to a rectangle 180 km long and 10 meters wide. Government officials claimed 49 of TIPNIS’s 64 communities now support the road.

In August 2011, TIPNIS leaders, the Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of Bolivia (CIDOB), and CONAMAQ began a national march from Trinidad, Beni to La Paz to oppose the highway. On September 25, police arrested hundreds of marchers, who were later released. The march continued and reached La Paz on October 19, where it received a large public welcome. During the march, groups like the Cochabamba campesino confederation and Yucumo colonos supported the highway. In early October, Bolivia’s legislative assembly passed a law authorizing the highway after a consultation process, but indigenous representatives and groups opposed it. On October 21, Morales said he would reject the law and support the version proposed by indigenous leaders. This version was approved and became law on October 24. Law 180 of 2011 declared TIPNIS an intangible zone and banned highways through it. However, in February 2012, the government canceled agreements with indigenous groups and passed Law 222, which allowed a consultation about the highway in TIPNIS. Despite renewed protests, the consultation took place. Human rights observers reported problems, such as late notices, lack of information, meetings not following indigenous traditions, and promises of gifts or projects in exchange for support. Though most communities reportedly supported the road, indigenous groups claimed the consultation was unfair and aimed at overturning Law 180.

In 2017, Bolivia’s MAS party introduced a law to remove protections for TIPNIS and allow a transportation plan. This law, called Law 969, was passed on August 13, 2017. It removed special protections for the park and allowed plans for roads and other infrastructure. Law 969 permits roads, private investment, and other projects in TIPNIS.

Many oil and gas drilling areas are inside TIPNIS. The Chispani, Río Hondo, and Sécure concession blocks (zones 19 and 20) are partly or fully within TIPNIS. The Sécure block is managed by Petroandina, a joint company of Bolivia’s YPFB and Venezuela’s PDVSA. Petroandina has done aerial surveys for oil exploration. The Río Hondo block is a joint project of Brazil’s Petrobras, France’s Total, and YPFB, approved by Law 3672 in 2007. Two exploratory wells were drilled in TIPNIS: Villa Tunari X-1 A (3,032 meters deep) and Eva Eva X-1 (5,830 meters deep) between 1999 and 2001. Bolivia’s National Service for Protected Areas (SERNAP) warned that oil drilling could harm TIPNIS’s rivers and ecosystems.