The recent publication “Scientific knowledge and research priorities in Madidi National Park and Natural Area of Integrated Management” constitutes a significant contribution to the development of science and protected areas in Bolivia. It is the result of research conducted in the area, mainly in the last 15 years that the scientific community now makes available to Bolivian institutions and society. The effort of systematizing and analyzing information began in an expert workshop held in September 2008, on the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the creation of the protected area, and allowed the evaluation of advances in the scientific knowledge and identification of priority research topics. The results of this workshop were later complemented and edited in a process led by the National Protected Area Service (SERNAP), Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the Institute of Ecology (IE), the National Herbarium of Bolivia (LPB), Missouri Botanical Garden and Amazon Conservation Association (ACA Bolivia) and involved 45 specialists working on different species groups and considering aspects related to geographical, taxonomical, ecological, traditional knowledge and natural resource management.
The book has an introduction and ten chapters, eight dedicated to taxonomic groups present in Madidi: ferns and nonvascular plants, vascular plants, insects, fish, reptiles and amphibians, birds, small mammals and medium and large mammals. A chapter is dedicated to the area's ecosystem services and the last presents general conclusions and recommendations. Each chapter includes a map of the level of knowledge attained, summary tables, graphs, photographs of some species and representative landscapes and literature cited.
The scientific analysis of available biodiversity information on Madidi highlights the extraordinary biological richness of the area and confirms the region´s crucial importance for biodiversity conservation. So far 193 families and 8,244 species of vascular plants have been identified, approximately 60% of Bolivian flora.The number of registered vertebrates includes 1,465 species, although it is expected that this number will increase to 1,868 species. This means that 3.5% of the world's vertebrates are found in Madidi, whose area represents only 0.0037% ofthe planet's surface. Madidi also stands out for its great diversity of birds, with an estimated 1,088 species, of which 917 have been described to date, which represent 11% of all the world birds and 34% of the birds of South America. Studies on wild species of continental importance, such as the jaguar, the Andean bear, the giant otter, the marsh deer and the spider monkey contributed to identify Madidi as a conservation unit of great importance.
Despite the scientific advances made in Madidi, an estimated 25% of vertebrates have not yet been registered, and only 2/3 of the estimated vascular plants have been identified. On the other hand, scientific knowledge is still insufficient and does not allow a deeper understanding of the ecological processes involved in the dynamics of biotic communities and ecosystems.
This publication attempts to summarize information available for a protected area as biodiverse as Madidi, gives scientific data and reflections on advances in knowledge generation, indicating crucial information gaps and identifying research priorities that can guide future studies in the area.