This translation has been automatically generated and has not been verified for accuracy.In Kenya, the coronavirus pandemic has dried up ecotourism, cutting off sources of funding that help protect wildlife and pay an income to communities working to preserve nature.
At the top of the list are Cape Verde – an island nation off the coast of West Africa – Vietnam, Honduras, Kenya, Nicaragua and Papua New Guinea. Most of the $8 trillion in debt owed by developing nations in 2019 – before the virus crisis – is held by wealthy countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, China and large asset managers, Steele said.China, for instance, is the host of the next Convention on Biological Diversity summit, now delayed to 2021, which aims to increase finance for nature protection, among other goals.
Debt-for-nature and debt-for-climate swaps are a relatively new idea. The Seychelles in 2018 signed a $27-million deal brokered through The Nature Conservancy, with the freed-up cash going to set up a big marine reserve, Steele said.