According to this Spanish-language article in Los Tiempos, park ranges in Bolivia have raised concerns that “protected Areas face serious problems of clearing plans and "invasion" of mining concessions, with scarce economic resources, without sufficient personnel and with a general director of the National Service of Protected Areas (Sernap) who has no commitment to these areas , but with political interests.”
“The head of Protection II, Marcos Uzquiano, told the ANF that they have three important demands: that the eventual rangers be hired permanently, improve the budget for park management, and the growing mining problem.
One of the major concerns is the number of mining concessions that have been granted, when the Madidi Park was created in 1995, there were 50 pre-existing concessions, that is, when the area was established, they were already in place, therefore It was necessary to "respect" and "assume", but now "we are for the 94 mining concessions," he warned.
Although he said that not all the concessions are operating and that the activity is at least 30% that does so in a mechanized or artisanal way, Uzquiano expresses his concern that mining operators could put their concessions into operation at any time.
"It seems that they want to turn the Madidi into a mining megafield," warned the head of Protection of one of the most important protected areas in the country for its great biodiversity, recognized worldwide as a natural lung.
He regretted that this situation "does not interest" the director of Sernap; and that the Mining Administrative Jurisdictional Authority (AJAM) continues to authorize concessions without respecting the status of protected area. "Leaving us highly vulnerable to miners who arrive with their machinery and in breach of environmental regulations."
Uzquiano believes that it is a "mining onslaught", because in Mapiri and other municipalities in northern La Paz they have already exhausted mining exploitation, therefore, they are under pressure to seek other areas and one of those would be the Madidi Park.
El Madidi has an area of 1,895,740 ha (18,957.40 km²), is characterized by having a large number of hydrological basins, has an immense flora and fauna, Ernesto Lucía is one of the park's guardians, assures that the "problems they are in the 22 protected areas ".
It confirms that they are being "invaded by mining concessions and that the entire banks of the Tuichi River are occupied by mining companies, which in the future are expected to enter with mechanized activity." We feel abandoned, because the conditions do not exist to carry out patrols either. , Lucia specified.
Uzquiano observed that while in protected areas such as Madidi there are many needs to fulfill their functions, the general director is focused on hiring directors through "rigged" and non-transparent processes.
For these reasons, he said that, if the director Teodoro Mamani is not committed to protecting and conserving protected areas, instead yielding to extractive pressures, he should "resign" from the position, because until now he has not demonstrated to defend these areas that are they constitute in true natural patrimonies.
The head of Protection II of Madidi, is intimidated with administrative processes open to complaint of the miners, only because he is fulfilling his function. On the other hand, he pointed out that other park rangers do not dare to report for fear of losing their job source.”