Author bio Wetlands occupy an important part of the Bolivian territory and in particular its tropical zone. The Bolivian tropics are composed of three districts Pando, Beni and Santa Cruz and extend into the districts of La Paz and Cochabamba. A high productivity and rich fauna characterize the Beni wetlands. Some of the largest are Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris and the river mammal Inia geofrensis .
Reptiles constitute another important part of the fauna.
River turtles and over 300 species of fish are also characteristic of this region. Many of the problems affecting the district wetlands and other wetlands in the country come from draining, and from clearing the land by burning it, which is a method used in cattle raising and agriculture. Because of the rather high degree of human intervention in the region, it is crucial that Bolivia develop a wetland strategy. However, valuable information has been obtained for parts of the Bolivian Pantanal, and it will be discussed in the next section. Soils are composed of quaternary sediments of pluvial character.