July 31, 2026
Santa Cruz, Bolivia - July 31, 2026 — The governments of Bolivia and Germany have launched a new initiative backed by a €15 million contribution, to strengthen forest protection, reduce deforestation and help Bolivia unlock new sources of international climate finance.
Funded by the Federal Republic of Germany through KfW Development Bank, the five-year initiative will help Bolivia protect two of its most important forest areas while strengthening the systems needed to attract future climate finance.
The project builds on years of locally led conservation. It will support forest protection and sustainable land management in the northern department of Pando, home to some of Bolivia's best-conserved forests, and in the Gran Chaco where the Guaraní nation’s Charagua Iyambae Indigenous Autonomous Government manages a vast conservation area.
The project will be led by the Bolivian government through the Ministry of Development Planning and Environment and the Vice Ministry of Environment, Biodiversity, Climate Change, and Forest Management and Development. Conservation International-Bolivia will serve as the implementing partner, overseeing the project’s technical, operational and financial implementation in accordance with the agreement signed with the Vice Ministry.
Supporting Conservation from Local Communities
KfW's funding will support forest protection, sustainable land management, fire management and conservation incentives through projects led by civil society groups. The initiative will benefit Indigenous Peoples, farming communities and other local communities across the Amazon and Gran Chaco by supporting participatory decision-making and expanding opportunities for women, young people and other community members to take part in forest management.
"For KfW, this project is a tangible example of how German financial cooperation can support processes led from the territories themselves. We are joining this effort with the conviction that conserving the forests of Pando andCharagua Iyambae is only sustainable if it also strengthens the local communities and organizations that manage and protect them every day, " said Carsten Kilian, Director of KfW's Office in Bolivia.
In Pando, over the past two decades, local governments have worked with Conservation International-Bolivia to build one of the largest conservation mosaics in the Bolivian Amazon. Approximately 90 percent of the department is forested. The project will build on that conservation foundation; it will strengthen local capacity to reduce deforestation through the development of sustainable economic alternatives, stronger governance and monitoring systems, and improved access to financing.
In Charagua Iyambae, the project will strengthen Indigenous territorial governance, sustainable land management and the continued development of Bolivia's first Indigenous jurisdictional REDD+ initiative — an effort to reduce forest fires and CO₂ emissions across more than 6 million hectares of land.
"This project supports the efforts we are advancing through our Indigenous autonomy to protect our forests and contribute to climate action based on our own territorial vision, with the support of the government and international cooperation." said Mariflor Suárez Angulo a representative of the Charagua Iyambae Indigenous Autonomous Government.
Strengthening National Capacity
At the national level, the project will help develop the enabling systems needed to access climate finance, including the National Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) System and the National Safeguards System, among others.
"The best way to protect forests is to invest in the people who protect them," said Eduardo Forno, Vice President of Conservation International-Bolivia. "This project strengthenslocal andIndigenous leadership while helping Bolivia build the long-term financing needed to keep forests standing ."
Project at a Glance
- €15 million in financing from the Federal Republic of Germany through KfW Development Bank
- Five-year implementation period
- Priority implementation areas: Department of Pando and the Charagua Iyambae Indigenous Autonomous Government (GAIOC)
- Support for national-level processes to access climate finance.
A launch event was attended by Minister of Development Planning and Environment José Fernando Romero Pinto; Vice Minister of Environment, Biodiversity, Climate Change, and Forest Management and Development Jorge Ernesto Ávila Antelo; Dr. José Schulz, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany; Governor of Pando Gabriela de Paiva Padilla; Carsten Kilian, Director of KfW's Office in Bolivia; and representatives of KfW, the Charagua Iyambae Indigenous Autonomous Government, Conservation International-Bolivia and partner institutions.
About Conservation International: Conservation International protects nature for the benefit of humanity. Through science, policy, fieldwork and finance, we spotlight and secure the most important places in nature for the climate, for biodiversity and for people. With offices in 30 countries and projects in more than 100 countries, Conservation International partners with governments, companies, civil society, Indigenous peoples and local communities to help people and nature thrive together. Visit Conservation.orgfor more, and follow us on Conservation News, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.