Who are we?
Founded in 1990, PROMETA (Protección del Medio Ambiente Tarija) is a Bolivian NGO committed to contributing to the proper management of the natural environment associated with improving the standard of living of rural communities and indigenous peoples. With this approach, it has contributed to the creation of conservation units covering more than 1.8 million hectares in six of Bolivia's seven ecoregions.
In the first stage of its history, PROMETA implemented the three national protected areas in the department of Tarija: the Tariquía National Flora and Fauna Reserve, the Cordillera de Sama Biological Reserve, and the Aguaragüe National Park and Integrated Management Natural Area. It also participated in the preparation of the regulatory framework for the creation of the Serranía del Iñao National Park in the department of Chuquisaca.
It later introduced the figure of the Municipal Protected Area to Bolivia and developed the technical and legal bases for the creation of these areas, which were later incorporated into the Political Constitution of the State in 2009. This contributed to the creation of municipal Protected Areas in different regions of the country.
PROMETA has also promoted the creation of sustainable and diversified financial mechanisms for local and national protected areas and has worked on the implementation of productive projects in areas of importance for conservation and sustainable development. It has also contributed decisively to the development of methodologies for climate change mitigation and adaptation at the local level by supporting the creation of more than ten Municipal Climate Change Plans and Bolivia's first Departmental Climate Change Plan in Tarija.
Throughout its existence, the organization has also worked on the conservation of endangered species in Bolivia, such as the jucumari bear (Tremarctos ornatus), a species that is threatened with extinction. bear (Tremarctos ornatus) and the guanaco (Lama guanicoe). In addition to participating in studies on other species, he has contributed to the discovery of new ones, such as the butterfly Morpho helenor prometanamed in honor of the organization.
