Location: Santa Cruz Department Map
Area: 15,234 km²
Noel Kempff National Park is located in Santa Cruz Department in Northeastern Bolivia. Noel Kempff National Park covers an area of 15,234 km². The large area of this Bolivian park covers several ecosystems including wooded savannah, the mountains and Amazon rain forest. Noel Kempff park contains over 4,000 species of plants, 130 species of mammals, 620 species of birds and 70 species of reptiles and many more. Many of these species are considered rare and are on the verge of extinction due to deforestation and hunting. National park is named after famous Professor Noel Kempff Mercado who devoted his entire life to study the ecosystem of the preserve. In 2000 Noel Kempff National Park was added to UNESCO World Heritage list.
The national park has a
high level of biological diversity, which is directly related to
the extraordinary degree of habitat diversity. The northeast of
the Department of Santa Cruz is located in an area of climatic
tension in which the Amazon is interspersed with the dry forests
and savannas of the Cerrado ecoregion. Habitats can be grouped
into five units:
Highland wet forests
Flooded and
riverside forests.
Dry forests.
Highland sheets.
Savannah wetlands.
The park is important as a biological
reserve in global terms due to the surface area of the
protected area and its pristine state, giving protection to dry
forests, closed forests and savanna wetlands9 that in other
parts of the continent are being destroyed at an accelerated
rate for conversion in agricultural and livestock lands.
Flora
The floristic records show that the flora of the park
is rich in diversity of vegetative formations extremely
interesting because of the endemisms, adaptations and uniqueness
of some communities, it has approximately 4,000 species of
vascular plants.
There are several species of orchids,
bromeliads, passionflower, heliconias, araceae and palm trees in
the park. Highlights species of economic importance such as the
Mara, the Oak, the Cedar (Cedrela odorata), the gum, several
species of palms such as asaí or palmito, in addition to an
important diversity of species of orchids typical floristic
communities of the phytogeographic province of the closed .
Wildlife
Mammals: in the park about 149 species of
mammals are registered to date including species such as:
jaguar, puma, anta, troop pig, marimono, deer and rare species
such as the Monte puppy, borochi, 10 range, deer of the swamps,
bufeo, londra and many others. The park gives protection to a
total of 33 mammals.
Birds: 677 species have been
registered in the park with 20% of the birds in South America,
but this number is estimated to increase when all migrants and
occasional visitors are added to the list. Some of the most
common birds are: Pava, paraba, parrot, toucan, hawk, partridge,
duck, duck, heron, kingfisher and others. Small endemic birds of
the region are found, such as Sporophila nigrorufa, outstanding
rare birds, such as the harpy eagle, the piyo and many others.
The park has a total of 29 species that have been classified as
threatened or endangered.
Reptiles: about 74 reptile
species are recorded in the park including the black alligator,
land turtle, sicurí, tataruga, rattlesnake, chonono cascable,
iguana and many others. Recent studies have produced 7 new
records for the country, of which 3 are new species for science
and therefore endemic to the region.
Amphibians and fish:
the park has a total of 62 species of amphibians, all of the
order Anura, toads and frogs. Fish are the least studied
vertebrates in the area, but they are very important due to the
dependence of the human population on this resource as food. A
recent expedition has registered a total of 250 species of fish.
Invertebrates: invertebrates are the most abundant organisms
in the park. But they are the least studied groups of animals.
There is a list of 347 species of insects.
Archeology
The Piso Firme region has archaeological sites. In the area of
influence there are, on the other hand, sites of great
historical value such as the colonial churches of the Jesuit
Missions of Bolivia in the towns of San Ignacio de Velasco,
Concepción, Guarayos and San Javier.
Population
There
are no settlers inside the park. In the area of influence
there are traditional Chiquitano and Guarasug´we indigenous
communities and peasants, and on the other side of the river
there are Brazilian populations of peasants and merchants.
Threats
Along the border with Brazil and the western
limit of the area, there are incursions of Brazilian chainsaws
and loggers who exploit mara and palm hearty asaí. There are
also poaching of wildlife.
In the vicinity of the town of
Santa Rosa de La Roca (on the road between Concepción and San
Ignacio de Velasco) and entering more than 100 km by
neighborhood roads, there are various communities of both people
from the place and immigration from the west and South of the
country, which are mainly dedicated to agriculture, and forest
use. In the medium term, settlements could affect large areas of
the national park, changing from protected areas to agricultural
production areas. The residents of surrounding areas have
denounced deforestation and irregular settlement in this sector.
Activities
Ecotourism
The package for tourists includes accommodation and three meals per
day. The Flor de Oro and Fierros camps have tourist infrastructure.
The main camp is located in Flor de Oro. There is a community
ecotourism venture, called "Lost World", led by the community of
Florida adjacent to the PNNKM. The community offers basic services
and local guides.
Landscape values and visual quality
Scenic values
The park covers a large part of the Caparú or
Huanchaca plateau, which rises up to 1,000 meters above sea level,
determining a slope of approximately 600 m above the surrounding
plain. This formation contains important habitats of great
biological diversity and forms a spectacular setting for its
waterfalls such as the Rainbow Falls among others, it is believed
that these spaces were the inspiration of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to
write his novel "The Lost World".