A groundbreaking initiative in Bolivia is set to channel long-term sustainable finance into the critical Tunari National Park, aiming to safeguard its unique ecosystems and secure water resources for over a million people. Asociacion Armonía, a key conservation partner in the region, is spearheading the development of an innovative Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) mechanism, a model that promises to transform conservation funding from short-term projects to a self-sustaining financial stream. This mechanism is projected to generate an estimated £3 million annually for watershed protection and restoration efforts within the park, representing a significant shift towards durable ecological and community resilience.
Tunari National Park: A Vital Andean Ecosystem Under Threat
High on the southern slopes of Bolivia’s central Andes, Tunari National Park harbors over 80% of the country’s remaining ancient Kewiña forest. These high-altitude native forests, characterized by their unique twisted trunks and resilience to harsh conditions, are not merely picturesque; they are ecologically indispensable. They play a crucial role in stabilizing steep Andean ridges, preventing soil erosion, and regulating vital water flows. Beyond their hydrological significance, these fragile ecosystems are biodiversity hotspots, providing a sanctuary for unique endemic wildlife found nowhere else on Earth, most notably the Near Threatened Cochabamba Mountain-finch (Poospiza garleppi), a species highly dependent on the Kewiña habitat. Crucially, the park’s watershed is the primary source of water for more than one million residents across the Cochabamba metropolitan region, making its health directly linked to urban survival and well-being.
Despite its protected status and immense ecological value, Tunari National Park has faced relentless pressure for decades. Destructive wildfires, often exacerbated by climate change and human activity, have ravaged significant portions of the forest. Deforestation, driven by agricultural expansion and illegal logging, further degrades the delicate balance. Moreover, the encroaching tide of urban expansion from the rapidly growing Cochabamba metropolitan area poses a constant threat, shrinking the park’s boundaries and fragmenting habitats. Historically, communities residing within the park have often experienced strained relationships with managing authorities, a dynamic that has complicated and sometimes undermined long-term conservation efforts, leading to a cycle of mistrust and ineffective interventions.
A New Dawn for Conservation: Community Engagement and Restoration
Today, this challenging dynamic is beginning to shift, thanks to the dedicated efforts of Asociacion Armonía, supported by the Forest Impact Accelerator. Over the past several years, Armonía and local communities have forged a collaborative path, achieving significant progress in restoring degraded areas within the Tunari protected area. A cornerstone of this success has been an ambitious reforestation program, which has seen the planting of an impressive 1.25 million trees. More than half of these new saplings have taken root in the Tiquipaya municipality, an area particularly vulnerable to environmental degradation and crucial for watershed health.
Beyond tree planting, the initiative has focused on building community capacity and resilience. Local wildfire brigades have been strengthened through training and equipment, empowering residents to respond effectively to blazes and protect their natural heritage. Reservoirs have been constructed or improved to secure water for both human consumption and ecological needs, a vital measure in a region increasingly susceptible to droughts and water scarcity. Perhaps most significantly, new systems have been established to enable communities to actively participate in watershed management, fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility.
A pivotal step in this process was the strengthening of the Organismo de Gestión de Cuencas (OGC), a watershed governance body. The OGC now plays a central role in coordinating restoration activities and collaboratively designing sustainable development strategies tailored for the communities living within the park. This collaborative approach has been instrumental in rebuilding trust between local residents, park authorities, and conservation organizations. Notably, women leaders have emerged as powerful advocates and active participants, shaping this work and ensuring that local perspectives and traditional ecological knowledge are integrated into conservation planning. This holistic approach recognizes that sustainable conservation is inextricably linked to the well-being and empowerment of the people who call the park home.
However, despite these commendable achievements, a fundamental challenge persisted: the inherent mismatch between the long-term nature of ecological restoration, which often spans decades, and the short-term, project-based funding models typically available for conservation. Christina Van Winkle, Forest Impact Accelerator Manager, notes, "Without stable, long-term financing, the gains made through restoration are incredibly difficult to maintain. We needed a solution that could provide sustained investment, matching the timescale of natural recovery." This realization underscored the urgent need for an innovative financial mechanism that could secure the future of the forest beyond the typical project cycle.
The Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) Mechanism: A Sustainable Solution
The new idea taking shape in Tunari is a Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) mechanism, designed to provide precisely this kind of stable, long-term financing. The core concept of PES is elegantly simple yet profoundly impactful: communities living in the upper watershed, who actively protect and restore the forests, are compensated by downstream users who directly benefit from the essential services these ecosystems provide. These services include water regulation, erosion control, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity conservation.
Over the past two years, Armonía, with crucial support from the Forest Impact Accelerator, has meticulously developed this PES model. This involved extensive studies, detailed assessments, and broad consultations across the seven municipalities that comprise the Cochabamba metropolitan area. Through these engagements, a critical consensus emerged: a significant number of urban residents recognized the direct link between the health of the Tunari forest and their own water security. This widespread understanding provided fertile ground for the acceptance and implementation of a user-pays system. Based on these encouraging results, Armonía and its partners are now actively developing a regional trust fund, the financial backbone of the PES mechanism.
How the Financing Model Will Work
The proposed PES mechanism is designed for transparency and efficiency. It will collect small, regular contributions from the beneficiaries of the ecosystem services – primarily urban residents and potentially businesses in the Cochabamba metropolitan area. These contributions will be directed into a transparent trust fund, managed by an independent governance body to ensure accountability and proper allocation of resources.
The funds generated by the PES mechanism will be strategically invested in three main areas, directly addressing the identified needs for sustainable conservation:
- Direct Restoration and Conservation Activities: A significant portion of the funds will be allocated to ongoing forest restoration efforts, including tree planting, reforestation of degraded areas, and the establishment of native plant nurseries. This also includes funding for critical preventative measures like wildfire management, maintaining firebreaks, and supporting community fire brigades.
- Community Development and Livelihoods: The mechanism will support sustainable development strategies for local communities within the park. This includes initiatives that provide alternative, environmentally friendly income opportunities, reducing reliance on practices that harm the forest. Investments could include agroforestry projects, sustainable tourism development, and capacity building for local entrepreneurs, thereby fostering economic well-being while promoting conservation.
- Strengthening Governance and Monitoring: Funds will also be directed towards enhancing the institutional capacity of both the Organismo de Gestión de Cuencas (OGC) and the park administration. This includes resources for improved ecological monitoring, enforcement of conservation regulations, and strengthening coordination among all stakeholders. It also ensures the independent oversight required for the trust fund’s transparent operation.
For the communities living within Tunari National Park, this system offers formal recognition of their invaluable role as custodians of the watershed and its rich biodiversity. It provides them with tangible incentives and resources to continue their stewardship. For urban residents, the PES mechanism offers a practical, collective way to directly support the ecosystems that provide their essential water supply, fostering a sense of shared responsibility. For public and private partners, it creates a transparent, well-governed structure for long-term investment in landscape restoration, ensuring that their contributions have a lasting impact. Once fully operational, this innovative mechanism has the potential to generate an estimated £3 million per year, providing an unprecedented level of stable funding for Tunari’s protection and restoration.
Building the Institutions Behind the Mechanism
The success of the PES mechanism hinges not just on financial flows but equally on robust governance and active community participation. With the continued support of the Forest Impact Accelerator, Armonía is actively assisting communities in developing comprehensive ten-year sustainable development strategies. These strategies are crucial for identifying specific restoration priorities, mapping out sustainable income opportunities, and integrating local needs with broader conservation goals.
A multi-stakeholder platform is being established to oversee the entire initiative and guide key decisions. This platform will bring together representatives from communities, municipal governments, park authorities, conservation organizations, and potentially urban water utility companies. Its role will be to ensure equitable representation, transparent decision-making, and effective coordination. Simultaneously, the park administration is receiving targeted support to strengthen its monitoring capabilities, enhance wildfire prevention protocols, and improve overall coordination with local communities and other stakeholders, ensuring a cohesive and integrated approach to park management. This institutional strengthening is paramount to the long-term success and resilience of the PES model.
A New Model for Watershed Protection and Beyond
The work underway in Tunari National Park transcends mere tree planting; it represents the construction of a durable, integrated system that interweaves ecological restoration, empowered community leadership, and secure long-term financing. Once fully operational, this mechanism could fundamentally transform how the Tunari watershed is managed. Instead of relying on intermittent, often unpredictable project funding, the region will benefit from a locally supported, self-sustaining financing system that directly rewards environmental stewardship. This innovative approach promises to safeguard the ancient Kewiña forests and their unique biodiversity, ensuring they continue to support life in the Andes for centuries to come.
This ambitious initiative is a testament to the power of collaboration and foresight. Since its inception in 2020, numerous donors have been essential to supporting this groundbreaking work. Asociacion Armonía and its partners extend profound gratitude to Accion Andina, the Darwin Initiative (both direct funding and through the Accelerator), Trillion Trees – BirdLife International, and FFBT (Flanders State of the Art – Agency Nature & Forest) for their crucial contributions.
The Forest Impact Accelerator, which has been instrumental in nurturing projects like Tunari, has now completed five successful years. Its achievements are a direct result of generous support from the Hempel Foundation, the Waterloo Foundation, and the King Charles III Charitable Fund. Beyond this core funding, the Accelerator has leveraged an additional £6 million in funding sourced in collaboration with its partners. Collectively, its initiatives have directly benefited 38,000 local people, improved protection for 400 threatened species, and positively impacted over 1 million hectares globally. Building on this success, the program recently received a significant Darwin Initiative Extra grant through the UK government’s Biodiversity Challenge Awards. This substantial award of £4,978,335 will enable the expansion and scaling of these achievements, aiming to secure 1 million hectares of Key Biodiversity Areas while simultaneously generating economic benefits for 200,000 local people, further solidifying the Forest Impact Accelerator’s role as a catalyst for global biodiversity conservation, poverty reduction, and climate change action. The Tunari National Park PES mechanism stands as a prime example of the innovative solutions fostered by such visionary partnerships and funding.
