Northern Beni and Pando

This northern outpost region is one of the least-visited areas of the Bolivian Amazon and as such has relatively little tourist infrastructure. This is the wettest part of Bolivia, receiving more than 1770 mm of rain annually. The region attained temporary importance during the natural-rubber boom of the late 19th century. But this collapsed, as it did throughout South America, in the second decade of the 20th century when cheaper Asian rubber cornered the world market. It is now the centre for Brazil nut production. Logging is another mainstay of the local economy and threatens to destroy the area's rainforests. There are attempts to promote sustainable timber management and the extraction of non-traditional rainforest products for use in foods, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.