A municipal Amazonian reserve protecting lake, forest, and traditional communities in northern Beni.
Reserva Municipal Aquicuana
Reserva Municipal Aquicuana is a municipally administered protected area in the northern Bolivia department of Beni, located deep within the Amazon basin roughly 20 kilometers from the city of Riberalta. The reserve protects a substantial tract of Amazonian rainforest centered on Lago San José, an ancestral lake whose name means 'place of great trees' in the Tacana indigenous language.
Aquicuana is distinctive among Bolivian protected areas for combining a strong ecological mandate with the presence of long-established human communities inside the reserve. Two communities, San José and Warnes, have lived within the area for decades, relying on fishing, small-scale agriculture, harvest of Brazil nuts, and other forest products. The reserve therefore functions simultaneously as a biodiversity refuge and as a living landscape where traditional Amazonian livelihoods continue alongside conservation goals.
The reserve was formalized in the 1990s and expanded significantly in 2016, reaching more than 20,000 hectares through partnerships between the municipal government of Riberalta, local communities, and conservation organizations. Today it is recognized for the Lago San José ecosystem, its rich birdlife, and the integration of indigenous medicinal plant traditions through the Pisatahua retreat center located within its boundaries.
