The Greater Madidi-Tambopata Landscape plunges from more than 6,000 m in the high Andes to 180m in the lowland Amazonian rainforest. The 110,000 km2 area spans northern Bolivia and southern Peru and encompasses five protected areas and the territories of six indigenous groups: Araona, Ese Eja, Leco, Mosten, T'simane, and Tacana. Deforestation for agriculture and ranching is increasing in the area, particularly along roads used as an immigration corridor for Aymara and Quechua speaking people from the highlands.

WCS has been working with the Tacana since 2000, supporting their efforts to secure collective legal tenure over 3,890 km2 and implement a land-use and natural resource management strategy. After successfully presenting their land claim to the Government of Bolivia, the group built consensus on a land-use plan and natural resource management strategy amongst the 20 communities living in the territory. The land-use strategy prioritizes sustainable livelihoods, biodiversity conservation, and forest protection.

Using satellite remote sensing imagery, WCS staff were able to measure deforestation rates across all of the Bolivian sections of the landscape (2005-2014), and along the San Buenaventura-Ixiamas Road within and outside the Tacana Indigenous. Satellite image analysis showed that deforestation along the San Buenaventura-Alto Madidi Road between 2005 and 2014 was almost three times greater outside (2.89% per year) compared to within the Tacana Indigenous Territory (1.06% per year) where WCS works.