El Porvenir and the Beni Biosphere Reserve

The Beni Biological Station (Beni Biosphere Reserve) covers a geographical area of 135,000 hectares. It's incredible ecological composition caught the attention of national and foreign researchers and environmentalists who for more that ten years, with the sponsorship of the Bolivian Academy of Sciences, have joined efforts to have it recognized as a protected area. This is not only due to its rich biota, but also the presence of an important indigenous amazonian group, the T'simane (Chimane). It iwas declared a Biosphere Reserve in 1986 by the MAB-UNESCO International Council with the purpose of promoting conservation in a context of balance between humans and nature. 30,000 hectares have been legally recongnized by the Bolivian State as par of the T'simane Indigenous Terrirory.

Among the natural virtues of the Biosphere Reserve is the convergence of three biogeographical zones: the Amazon, the Chaco and the Cerrado. Studies carried out in the area demonstrate the presence of more than 100 species of mammals, over 500 species of birds and more than 2,000 species of vascular plants. Also of great importance is the inter-institutional coordination with national and international organizations. Such inter-relations have permitted the diffusion of their activities, and through sharing have enriched its experiences in the scientific realm as well as its relation with the population.