This is a resource that allows the debt of a country to be exchanged. Indigenous organizations say that there is a double environmental discourse from the Lasso government.
The announcement of the expansion of the Galapagos Marine Reserve (RMG) has provoked positive reactions, although there are also criticisms.
Mónica Calvopiña, marine biologist and member of the organization ‘Más Galapagos’ explains that although nature cannot be given an implicit value, there are economic studies that show that the marine biodiversity, especially of iconic species such as sharks, stingrays and whales “generates foreign exchange to the country, for marine tourism. Galapagos is considered a jewel of marine tourism worldwide ”.
If the oceans were an economy they could be the seventh largest economy in the world, representing 2.5% of the World Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to a World Bank report.
That is why, Calvopiña highlights, the enlargement of the RMG of 60,000 square kilometers generates two benefits: “exchange the debt and conserve living organisms that in the future will generate many benefits for Ecuadorians.”
Blue bonds
The president, Guillermo Lasso, made the announcement of the enlargement during the United Nations Climate Change Conference, called the summit COP26, in Glasgow (UK).
“This decision will cause financial proposals to be made to swap debt for conservation. We estimate that it will be the largest amount made in the world ”, said the President, although no further details of the amount or the form have been given.
For the economic expert and member of the Fiscal Policy Observatory, Jaime Carrera, one of the options would be the use of ‘blue bonds’.
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announced, on November 2, 2021, the issuance of the first ‘blue bond’ linked to ocean conservation and water cleaning in Latin America and the Caribbean.
“The blue bonds are emerging as an innovative financial solution to mobilize capital and create sustainable business opportunities in the realm of the oceans and the protection of water, “said James Scriven, CEO of IDB Invest, to EFE.
How do the blue bonds work?
Carrera explains that these bonds allow a country to negotiate the debt swap agreement for seas. In other words, a government undertakes to protect at least 30% of its marine areas.
Debts can be forgiven or can be restructure with lower interest rates.
In the case of Ecuador, according to the Ministry of Economy, the public debt reaches $ 63,091.40 millions. The figure includes internal and external debt. Only the external debt is $ 45,044.03 million.
Carrera says that this is the right time to make these decisions as Ecuador has faced high debt for the last 14 years, plus the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Roque Sevilla, president of Grupo Futuro and one of the proponents of the project, has detailed in different interviews that the debt could be exchanged for at least $ 1,100 million.
Protect migrating species
Calvopiña indicates that the objective of expanding the reserve is to protect biological corridors. Well, there are migratory species, those that move from Galapagos to other regions and are vulnerable.
Protecting these routes prevents fishing interaction or illegal fishing. “Because these species in which we invest a lot, leave the Galapagos and are fished (…) with the expansion we are ensuring a higher percentage of survival”, highlights the biologist Marine.
Calvopiña adds that the initial proposal was to have 138 thousand kilometers of reservation, but that finally, after agreements with environmental sectors, artisanal fishermen, industrialists and the government 60,000 km were reached. However, it considers that over time the area should continue to expand protected.
For the fishing sector, says the expert, there are also benefits because as protected areas increase “there are sources of seedlings (of fish) and that will generate more resources and sustainability for the fishing sector,” she adds. (AVV)
Amazonian populations say that the Government has a double environmental discourse
Andrés Tapia, communication leader of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon (Confeniae) recognizes that it is wise to protect the islands Galapagos. However, his organization has criticized the environmental stance of the government from Guillermo Lasso and has even said that it handles a double environmental discourse.
This is because the Government signed decrees 95 (July 7, 2021) and 151 (August 5, 2021). The first regulates oil activities and the second has to do with mining activities.
“Both decrees make possible the expansion of the mining and oil extraction frontier in the south-central region of the Amazon. So we see as an incoherence that the president has an apparently environmental speech, but at the same time, he tries to duplicate oil extraction in the Amazon and it worries us ”, he adds.
The Confeniae already filed, on October 18, 2021, a lawsuit for unconstitutionality on decree 95 and will present one on 151.
En 1987, Fundación Natura hizo el primer canje de deuda por naturaleza, por un valor de $10 millones.
If the oceans were an economy, they could be the seventh largest economy in the world, representing 2.5% of world GDP, according to the World Bank.
