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A potential turning point for Bolivia’s biodiversity conservation

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 10, pages 158–159 (2026)Cite this article

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Bolivia ranks among the world’s most biologically diverse countries1, and spans ecosystems that range from the Amazon rainforest to the Andes, Cerrado, Chaco and Chiquitano forests. This extraordinary mosaic harbours exceptional species, habitat and ecosystem diversity2. Yet Bolivia’s biodiversity now stands at a critical juncture. Over the past two decades, accelerating deforestation, infrastructure expansion, agribusiness, illegal mining and wildlife trade have driven many ecosystems towards collapse3,4, which has had far-reaching consequences for human well-being, Indigenous livelihoods and climate resilience5. The change of government following the 19 October 2025 general elections marks a political turning point and a historic opportunity to redefine Bolivia’s environmental trajectory.

Now, the incoming centre-right administration — led by senator Rodrigo Paz of the Christian Democratic Party — inherits both the mandate and the responsibility to halt ecological decline, reconcile economic and environmental priorities, and restore Bolivia’s standing as a global leader in biodiversity stewardship. Yet, early signals are not encouraging. Lacking a clear environmental platform, the president-elect campaigned primarily on economic recovery and has recently indicated plans to downgrade the Ministry of Environment and place it under the Ministry of Planning. This would represent a serious institutional setback at a time when strong environmental governance is more critical than ever.

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Fig. 1: Bolivia’s biodiversity is under increasing pressure.

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Acknowledgements

M.M.R. acknowledges funding from the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés. Á.F.-L. has received financial support from an ERC starting grant from the European Union (ERC, IEKCHANGES, 101117423) and a Ramón y Cajal research grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (RYC2021-034198-I). L.F.A. acknowledges funding from the Universidad Mayor de San Simón. O.M. acknowledges funding from the Fundación para la Conservación del Bosque Chiquitano. A.R.-M. was supported by the ERC grant 101001239 SYSTEMSHIFT. We thank C. Wordley for discussions and inputs. This work contributes to ICTA-UAB ‘María de Maeztu’ Programme for Units of Excellence of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (CEX2024-001506-M/funded by MICIU/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, La Paz, Bolivia

    Mónica Moraes R

  2. Herbario Nacional de Bolivia, La Paz, Bolivia

    Mónica Moraes R

  3. Department of Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares

  4. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain

    Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares

  5. Centro de Biodiversidad y Genética, Universidad Mayor de San Simón, Cochabamba, Bolivia

    Luis F. Aguirre

  6. Fundación para la Conservación del Bosque Chiquitano, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia

    Oswaldo Maillard

  7. Geography Department, Humboldt University-Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Alfredo Romero-Muñoz

Authors
  1. Mónica Moraes R
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  2. Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares
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  3. Luis F. Aguirre
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  4. Oswaldo Maillard
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  5. Alfredo Romero-Muñoz
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Correspondence to Mónica Moraes R.

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Moraes R, M., Fernández-Llamazares, Á., Aguirre, L.F. et al. A potential turning point for Bolivia’s biodiversity conservation. Nat Ecol Evol 10, 158–159 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-025-02937-8

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