High-altitude puna reserve protecting vicuñas, suris, and Andean heritage landscapes in southern Bolivia.
Pampa Tholar de las Vicuñas
Pampa Tholar de las Vicuñas is a municipal integrated management area in the extreme south of Bolivia, set within the dry and semi-arid puna ecoregion of the department of Potosí. It lies in the municipality of Villazón, at elevations ranging roughly between 3,200 and 4,700 meters above sea level, where high plains, foothills, ridges, and highlands define the landscape. The protected area covers around 58,480 hectares and is divided into two non-contiguous segments across the eastern and western life systems of the region.
The area stands out for its strong association with the southern vicuña, a wild camelid whose wild population has grown dramatically in the area over the past two decades. Through a community-driven conservation and fiber management model, the area combines biodiversity protection with the sustainable use of vicuña fiber, an activity known locally as chaku. The combination of high-altitude grasslands, seasonal lagoons, and a culturally rooted management scheme makes Pampa Tholar a distinctive example of how Andean communities safeguard puna ecosystems while keeping traditional livelihoods alive.
The protected area was created in 2018 by the Autonomous Municipal Government of Villazón and is the only such area in that municipality, as well as one of four in the department of Potosí. Its establishment reflects the efforts of local herding families gathered into the Regional Association of Vicuña Managing Communities of Villazón, with support from conservation partners, to defend the puna from soil erosion, illegal hunting, and expansion of the agricultural frontier.
