Otuquis National Park and Integrated Management Natural Area

Otuquis National Park and Integrated Management Natural Area is a protected area in the southeast of Bolivia’s Santa Cruz Department that conserves a large tract of Pantanal wetland and associated habitats. The designation combines a strict national park core with an adjacent integrated management area intended to balance conservation and sustainable local use.

The protected area is valued for its extensive seasonally flooded grasslands, marshes and river channels that support waterbirds, fish populations and large mammals typical of the Bolivian Pantanal. Visitors and researchers come for wildlife observation, riverine landscapes and the seasonal dynamics of flooding and drying.

The protected area was created through Bolivian conservation processes to protect the Pantanal margin and to regulate land use through zonation that separates strictly protected cores from multi-use areas. Management aims to conserve key habitats while allowing traditional and sustainable use in buffer zones.

Otuquis lies in the lowland plains of eastern Bolivia within Santa Cruz Department, bordering the international frontiers with Brazil and Paraguay. The terrain is flat to gently undulating and dominated by seasonal wetlands and river floodplains.

• Ecosystem context: Occupies part of the Bolivian Pantanal wetland complex and forms a transboundary ecological zone adjacent to Brazil and Paraguay.
• Wetland habitat: Contains extensive seasonally flooded wetlands, marshes and river channels that support a variety of waterbird and large mammal species.

What to See#

• National Park: National park zone - preserved core area for biodiversity and large-scale wetland habitats, managed for strict conservation.
• Integrated Management Area: Integrated Management Natural Area - buffer and sustainable-use zone where limited human activities and traditional uses are permitted alongside conservation.

Otuquis is in southeastern Bolivia in the Santa Cruz Department near the Bolivian-Brazilian-Paraguayan border. The nearest larger towns include Puerto Suárez and Roboré-access typically requires a combination of road travel from Santa Cruz de la Sierra and local arrangements with park authorities for guides and permits. Infrastructure is limited; coordinate logistics through Bolivian protected-area offices.

• Plan logistics well in advance-park is remote and requires careful coordination with local authorities.
• Respect Ramsar and protected-area rules-some zones are off-limits to preserve sensitive wetlands and wildlife.
• Combine with visits to nearby Bolivian lowland communities to understand the human-environment interface and local conservation efforts.