The River
Bolivia designated the Agua Dulce reserve, about 715,000 acres along the Iténez River, with Faunagua and Rainforest Trust. The NGO's protected area passed 70 million acres. A designation is not a wildlife census.
A paper fence on the Iténez. The jaguar was not counted yesterday.
The river is the Iténez on the Bolivian side and the Guaporé on the Brazilian side. It runs about 780 miles and forms much of the northeast border. On 5 October, and in the coverage that followed this week, Rainforest Trust said a new municipal wildlife reserve along that river had carried the organisation past 70 million acres protected.
The new piece is the Agua Dulce Municipal Wildlife Reserve, in Baures, Bolivia, made with Faunagua. It covers nearly 715,000 acres. Rainforest Trust's release lists 11 vegetation types, more than 70 mammal species, 489 bird species, 47 reptile and amphibian species, and 55 fish species. The animals named in the release are jaguars, Amazon river dolphins, giant otters, lowland tapirs, and black caimans. A later write-up put the fish count much higher. We use the organisation's number.
Rosmery Ayala Lozada, executive director of Faunagua, said Rainforest Trust helped the municipality reach a formal legal designation and write the management instruments. The plan was written with the communities who live in and around the reserve. James Deutsch, the NGO's chief executive, said 10 million of the 70 million acres were added in eight months. One of his lines says seven months. The release says eight. We use eight.
The pressure on this basin is cattle, logging, and farm expansion. The reserve is meant to keep a corridor open across six contiguous conservation areas shared with Brazil. A designation is a legal instrument. It is not a count of dolphins that were saved this week, and it is not a satellite confirmation that clearing has stopped.
The cold open is the river at dawn. The acreage comes second. Do not say the jaguar walked into the shot.
Key Facts
- Agua Dulce Municipal Wildlife Reserve, Baures, Bolivia, nearly 715,000 acres
- Rainforest Trust cumulative protected area passed 70 million acres; 10 million of that in eight months
- 11 vegetation types; more than 70 mammals; 489 birds; 47 reptiles and amphibians; 55 fish species, per the organisation
- Named wildlife: jaguar, Amazon river dolphin, giant otter, lowland tapir, black caiman
- Partner: Faunagua. Management plan written with local communities
- Press release dated 5–7 October 2026; Good News Network covered it on 27 October
Why This Matters
Protected-area pledges are easy. A named reserve, a named local director, and a river that is also a border are harder. The 30-by-30 clock is the context. This is one municipal instrument on one corridor, not the target met.
What We Don't Know Yet
Whether clearing inside the new line has actually slowed. Whether the higher fish counts in secondary coverage are the basin or the reserve. Whether the eight-month acreage includes designations that exist on paper and not yet on the ground. We do not have an independent audit of the 70 million.