During the installation of a gas pipeline through the ANMI, a large trove of Pre-Columbian artefacts were found, dating from the years 1000 to 1500. There are rock paintings near Laguna Gaiba, to the north of the road from El Carmen to Puerto Suarez, and to the north of the area of Navidad y Las Petas.[2]
The area was first protected under Supreme Decree 24124 on 21 September 1995 as Area de Inmovilización-Reserva Biológica San Matías (a Santa Cruz Department designation),[1] with a size of 900,000 ha.[3] On 31 July 1997 Supreme Decree 24734 renamed, reorganised and enlarged the Natural Area, growing it to its modern girth.[1]
During the massive wildfires across Bolivia in 2021, this ANMI was the most impacted of all protected areas; 697,929 hectares had burned by 2021. 916,486 hectares burned in the San Matías Municipality.[4]
Flora
Sixteen main (natural) floral associations have been identified in the ANMI.[2] There are also anthropogenic habitats and open water.[1]
The paraba azul (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus, the hyacinthine macaw) is considered an emblematic symbol of the region.[2] Most of the Bolivian population of this large parrot is thought to be found in this Natural Area,[5][6] although they likely range northward. They can most often be seen in the cattle ranches in the ANMI.[7] There is an annual macaw festival in the village of San Fernando on 6 August. The population is likely increasing, as the range is expanding and there are more sightings.[5]
Typical reptiles found here are the yacaré or caiman Caiman yacare, the tortoises Geochelone carbonaria and G. denticulata, the sicurí (anaconda) Eunectes notaeus, Boa constrictor and the rattlesnake Crotalus durissus. 42 amphibian and 49 reptile species were registered in the ANMI as of 2018.[2] The yacaré population in the ANMI San Matías is harvested for its hides according to a sustainable culling program, in collaboration with WWF Bolivia, claimed to be the first of its type in Bolivia.[9] The animals are often hunted by locals for use in traditional cuisine.[1]
Fish
The large catfish Zungaro jahu occurs here. 128 fish species were registered in the ANMI as of 2018.[2]
People
There were 155 properties in the park when the first management plan for the area was complied, the majority were cattle ranches, with an estimated 100,000 head of cattle in the ANMI.[5] There are nine forestry concessions within the park, one is in the centre.[1] Approximately 6,000 people reside within the ANMI, of which the majority are under 15. These live in 17 communities, and the majority are of Ayoreo and Chiquitano ethnicity. There are numerous towns of a few thousand people in the buffer zone around the ANMI.[1]
Management
The director is Marcel Caballero, a biologist, as of 2018.[5]
Tourism
The dry season (June to November) is the best time for tourism, as the land is not flooded and the roads stable.[2]
It can be reached from Santa Cruz by road, air or boat. The road runs through the towns of San José de Chiquitos, Roboré, El Carmen and Puerto Suárez. The road from Roboré to San Matías is said to be a scenic route. There are daily flights from Santa Cruz to Puerto Suárez, and there are three much closer villages with airstrips for small planes in the area: Rincón del Tigre, Santo Corazón and San Fernando. There is also a train which departs daily from Santa Cruz to Puerto Quijarro, passing through San José de Chiquitos, Robore, El Carmen Rivero Torrez and Puerto Suárez.[2]
There is a village in the east of the ANMI, Santo Corazón, where tourists can meet Ayoreo and Chiquitano people.[2]
^Pinto-Ledezma, Jesús N.; Sosa, Ronald; Paredes, Maya; García, Ivan; Villarroel Segarra, Daniel; Muyucundo, Steven; Rivero Mamani, Mary Laura (June 2011). "La Paraba Jacinta (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus): Estado Poblacional y su Conservación en el Pantanal Boliviano" [The Hyacinth Macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus): Population Status and its Conservation in Bolivian Pantanal] (PDF). Kempffiana (in Spanish). 7 (1): 19–31. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
