Bolivia

4,022.93 km (402,293 hectares) hectares

The Guaran Indigenous Autonomy Kereimba Iyambae in Santa Cruz, Bolivia is engaged in restoration of their 4,023 km territory that is being restored, fire-damaged lands. IPELC (Instituto Plurinacional de Estudio de Lenguas y Culturas) is a representative of IPELC and am coordinating efforts for restoration using their Guaran spiritual tradition for ecological restoration. As of September 2023, the organization is physically working to restore sacred sites in the Kaaguasu and Gran Kaipependi Karovaicho zones. The organization is actively replanting native tree species (ej. Tajibo) over 300 hectares, and hope to be restoring 500 hectares by. Their community brigades are utilizing traditional agroforestry in combination with new soil conservation alternatives, particularly in the ancahuaz River basin which was adversely affected by the fires and is near their territory. The organization is working with Rotaract and the US Embassy to open and establish a sacred seed bank in Gutierrez, to conserve native species. The organization has in one year (2022 -September. Begin to establish monthly interfaith pilgrimages (compilation of various denominations -Catholic, Evangelical, etc.) along Ruta 9 that include ceremonial replanting. At the 2025 Interfaith Fellowship in the USA at Duke University, IPELC (Instituto Plurinacional de Estudio de Lenguas y Culturas) was able to secure commitments and dedications to modify this work on a global scale. In the future the organization will be expanding and replicating their Interfaith Fire Response Alliance to neighboring territories of Indigenous peoples to build together a trained network of over a 1,000 stewards aligned with IPELC trusted networks by. The organization is envisioning for example monitoring systems that can track ecosystem and biodiversity recovery in addition to their still developing cultural impacts. In other words monitoring restoration with a consciousnes of their Iyambae, reciprocity towards land and people. Kereimba Iyambae has various wildfires repeatedly burning (12 major burns in. About 60 percent of its area (4,023 km). The Santa Cruz Forest Department provides only five percent of the firefighting gear needed for forest protection. The national governments land fund FONABOSQUE disbursed only 15 percent of promised native seed bank assistance. They are monitoring (22 capitanas) with only 3 ATVs which is not enough. Santa Cruzs need for permits from the Agricultural Department causes delays with about 80 percent of agroforestry permits. Interfaith coordination does not occur among Capitanas, not only because of opportunities for collaboration, but because of conflicts over sacred land use protocols between Catholics and evangelicals.