A vast Amazonian mosaic in northern Bolivia protecting Andean-to-Moxos transition ecosystems, endemic primates, and ancestral Tacana lands.
Rhukanrhuka Municipal Protected Area
Rhukanrhuka Municipal Protected Area is a large municipal-level conservation area in the northern Bolivian Amazon, covering roughly three-quarters of the municipality of Reyes in the Beni department. Established in 2019, it sits at the ecological transition between the easternmost foothills of the Andes and the Llanos de Moxos, blending white-water river corridors, gallery forests, savanna mosaics, and tectonic lakes such as Lago Rogagua.
The area is distinguished by its rich but still incompletely documented biodiversity, and in particular by the presence of species of strong conservation concern. It shelters an endemic Bolivian population of the critically endangered wattled curassow (known locally as pava mamaco) at the headwaters of the Río Negro and is one of the last strongholds for Bolivia's two endemic titi monkeys, locally called lucachis, after which the protected area itself is named.
Beyond its ecological role, Rhukanrhuka carries significant cultural value. The Maropa people, a Tacana-language indigenous group, live within its boundaries, and the lone archaeologically investigated site in the broader region, Uaua-Uno, also lies inside the area. The combination of lowland Amazonian wildlife, Andean-derived waters, indigenous presence, and a trans-boundary connection to Madidi makes Rhukanrhuka an important element of Bolivia's network of municipal protected areas.
