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Ecuador taking a look at new Amazon and Ocean linked debt-for-nature swaps, sources say

Ecuador is scoping out brand-new debtfornature swaps, one to funnel funds into the Amazon rain forest and another for a huge ocean defense zone backed by Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio, people familiar with the matter have actually told .

The South American nation is seeking to build on the record-breaking $1.6 billion debt swap it scheduled its Galapagos Islands last year. is reporting information for the very first time of the alternatives being thought about.

While the federal government is now focused on taking on drug-fuelled organised crime and securing a new IMF offer, sources stated authorities have actually been working with multilateral advancement banks and preservation groups for months on a minimum of two possible debt swaps in the hope of doing something this year.

The very first would be tied to safeguarding parts of the Amazon rainforest, widely considered as the world's most important natural ecosystem. The second choice issues moneying a. groundbreaking Marine Protected Area Ecuador has actually developed along. its entire 2,237 km (1390 mile) mainland Pacific coast.

Ecuador will most likely require to concentrate on one in the meantime, one. person familiar with the strategies said, offered the time and effort. such debt swaps take to structure.

In a debt-for-nature swap, a country's government bonds or. loans are bought up and replaced with new ones paying a lower. rate of interest offered the federal government dedicates to invest some. of the money minimized conservation.

Typically a development bank backs the handle a credit. guarantee or threat insurance coverage, which protects purchasers of the brand-new. bonds if the country is unable to pay the cash back.

Ecuador, considered among the world's 17 megadiverse. countries, has likewise among the worst deforestation rates in. Latin America, according to the United Nations environment arm.

That, integrated with its high debt, makes it an apparent. prospect for debt-for-nature swaps.

2 out of the 4 people who talked to on condition. of privacy said the swaps being checked out were likely to share. a variety of features with last year's record Galapagos offer.

They would intend to supply tens of countless dollars a year. for the particular preservation targets and could each re-finance. around $1 billion worth of Ecuador's debt, though the numbers. could change depending upon the timing, the sources stated.

According to two of the sources, the Inter-American. Development Bank (IDB) and the U.S. International Development. Financing Corporation (DFC) are again being lined up to provide. credit guarantee and political threat insurance required to. drive down the expense of loaning and create the savings.

Ecuador's financing minister said as recently as last month. that the country was aiming to follow up the Galapagos offer. Both the ministry and the IDB declined to talk about the information. of plans reported in this story.

A DFC spokesperson said it was exploring opportunities for. debt conversion for nature transactions around the world,. although it might not divulge with which nations.

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A tender, or ask for proposal (RFP), for the planned. debt swap is yet to be sent out to banks, two of the sources. stated.

UBS which took over Credit Suisse, the bank that handled the. Galapogas offer, decreased to comment on whether it might be in. the running again, as did Bank of America, which helped with a. swap in Gabon last year

While some debt experts argue that complex debt-for-nature. swaps do not constantly conserve governments as much cash as is. suggested, countries such as Ecuador or Barbados are seeking to. do more of them.

Three sources said a few of scoping and style work on the. possible Amazon-linked swap was being done by The Nature. Conservancy.

The non-profit organisation has been instrumental in. landmark deals in the Seychelles, Belize, Barbados and July's. Gabon one.

In the ocean security zone-linked alternative, meanwhile, that. function would be played by Re: wild, two of the people said. The. preservation group co-founded by actor DiCaprio in 2021 already. funds operate in the Galapagos.

Re: wild has not responded to a request for remark.

Ecuador's waters are home and breeding grounds to thousands. of types including humpback whales and leatherback turtles. The first-of-a-kind ocean security zone it established in 2015. indicates its coast is now covered 8 nautical miles (14.8 km) out to. sea.

(source: Reuters)