Bolivia’s Indigenous communities created 2.2 million acres of newly protected area in the Amazon rainforest
Over the past several months, Bolivia has created four new protected areas covering 907,244 hectares, or 2.2 million acres, of Amazon lowlands and Andean highlands.
The new areas create corridors to improve wildlife migration and maintain forest-based economies for locals and is part of an effort by local governments to link Indigenous territories with nearby national parks and strengthen ecological connectivity.
The new management area will help protect the endangered Bolivian river dolphin and vulnerable harpy eagle, among other species.
Why is this good news? In recent years, Bolivia has had some of the highest deforestation rates in the world, driven by agribusiness, cattle ranching, and fires, among other factors. In 2025, it lost 1.8 million hectares (4.4 million acres), and the year before that, it lost around 490,000 hectares (1.2 million acres).
New data shows that EVs are already making the air cleaner
Researchers from the University of Southern California analyzed air quality from 2019 to 2023 in California and found that for every 200 electric vehicles added in a ZIP code, nitrogen dioxide levels dropped by about 1.1%.
Projection models have long predicted the benefits of EVs, but this study is the first of its kind to collect EV data via satellite. The study used satellite measurements to capture trends across nearly 1,700 areas.
The researchers say the results indicate that even incremental shifts toward electric vehicles can deliver tangible air quality improvements, and suggest that similar methods could track other pollutants in the future.
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