NGO Celebrates 70 Million Amazon Acres Conserved After Protecting Are Called a ‘Link of Life’.
Rainforest Trust reported that it has passed 70 million protected acres worldwide, adding 10 million since February 2026, with a new 715,000-acre wildlife reserve in Baures, Bolivia, carrying it past the mark.
Rainforest Trust announced that it has surpassed 70 million acres protected worldwide, an area the organization compares to the size of Nevada. The nonprofit, based in Warrenton, Virginia, reached 60 million acres in February 2026, so the most recent 10 million acres were added in about eight months.
The project that took it past the mark was the newly designated Agua Dulce Municipal Wildlife Reserve in Baures, Bolivia, which was created with Faunagua. The reserve covers nearly 715,000 acres and includes 11 distinct vegetation types. According to Rainforest Trust, it shelters more than 70 mammal species, 489 bird species, 47 reptile and amphibian species and 55 fish species. Animals named in the announcement include jaguars, Amazon river dolphins, giant otters, lowland tapirs and black caimans.
The organization also said the reserve maintains ecological connectivity between Bolivia and Brazil, linking six contiguous conservation areas that the two countries share.
Rosmery Ayala Lozada, executive director of Faunagua, said Rainforest Trust supplied technical and financial support to build local and municipal agreement, secure the reserve's formal legal designation and develop its key management tools. She described the effort as an alliance among the Baures municipal government (GAM Baures), Faunagua and international partners including Conserva Aves and the Andes Amazon Fund. In her words, the alliance is achieving lasting impacts for biodiversity conservation, the preservation of ecosystem services along the Iténez River and the sustainable development of the communities that steward the area.
James Deutsch, CEO of Rainforest Trust, noted that the world has pledged to protect 30% of the planet by 2030, and said his organization is focused on the most imperiled 30%, where conservation can make the greatest difference. "Seventy million acres is a remarkable milestone, but it makes us more determined to go further and faster," he said.
Rainforest Trust was founded in 1988 and works with local conservation groups, Indigenous Peoples and communities to protect threatened habitats. The organization described the milestone as both a measure of progress and a reminder of the work still ahead.
Note: The headline calls this 70 million Amazon acres, but the page says the 70 million acres are protected worldwide. Only the Bolivian reserve that passed the mark is described in the Amazon context. The page also says both eight months and seven months for the latest 10 million acres; the brief uses the eight months given in the lead.
At a Glance
- Rainforest Trust has passed 70 million acres protected worldwide, up from 60 million in February 2026.
- The Agua Dulce Municipal Wildlife Reserve in Baures, Bolivia, covers nearly 715,000 acres.
- The reserve is home to 489 bird species, over 70 mammal species and 55 fish species.
- Faunagua, GAM Baures, Conserva Aves and the Andes Amazon Fund partnered on the reserve.
Sources
This brief was written by Brightside Report from the reporting linked above. Spot an error? Request a correction.