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Noel Kempff Mercado National Park


Noel Kempff Mercado National Park is a national park in the north-eastern portion of the Santa Cruz Department, Province of Jose Miguel de Velasco, Bolivia, on the border with Brazil.

Date of creation

The date of its foundation was on June 28, 1979. Its original name was "Parque Nacional Huanchaca", but was then changed to "Parque Nacional Noel Kempff Mercado" in honor of the late pioneering biologist and Bolivian conservationist Prof. Noel Kempff Mercado, for his research and discoveries in the Park - and also in memory of his tragic death in the area; In 1988 Mercado was murdered here by drug traffickers after stumbling across a secret cocaine laboratory high on the Huanchaca plateau. "The Rough guide to Bolivia", James Read, Rough guides publishing, 2nd edition February 2008

Description

Noel Kempff Mercado National Park spans 15,234 km in the northeastern corner of the Bolivian department of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. One of the most biologically diverse areas in the world, Bolivia is known for its diversity in climate, fauna and flora. Weather in the general area is very hot and humid throughout the year, with abundant rainfall reaching roughly 1500 mm.

Flora

It is estimated that the park has approximately 4.000 species of vascular plants. There exist diverse types of bromelias, passifloras, heliconias, araceas and palm trees.

There are also important types of wood like the "Mara". The area encompasses five important ecosystems ranging from Amazonian rain forest, gallery forest and semi-deciduous tropical forest to flooded savanna and dry cerrado.

Fauna

The Park is home to more than 130 species of mammals , 620 species of birds , and 70 species of reptiles, including black caiman.

Birds

In this area there are more than 617 species of birds (20% of the all bird species in South America). The most recent studies say that these numbers will increase once migratory birds are included.

Reptiles

In this park there exist nearly 74 species of reptiles including the black caiman, snakes, and other rare species.

Invertebrates

The park has 347 species of insect, in these are a lot of the rarest in the world. They are unfortunately not studied yet.

Principal goals

General objective:

To protect this natural area of great diversity that has not been industrialized and is not polluted.

Specific goals:

Guarantee the protection of the ecosystems

Help the scientific research

Enjoyment by visitors

Show the people an unpolluted area with beautiful locations

Help the people that live there to improve their lifestyle

Threats the park faces:

Turtle hunting

Fishing

Industrialized Forest fires

Illegal forest exploitation

Narcotraffic

Financing problems

See also

List of national parks of Bolivia

External links

Official Noel Kempff Mercado National Park website

Official UNESCO website entry

World Conservation Monitoring Centre

Short amateur video of waterfall Arco Iris in Noel Kempff Mercado National Park

Short amateur video of waterfall Ahlfeld in Noel Kempff Mercado National Park

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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Noel Kempff Mercado National Park


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