British Sign Language Glossaries of Curriculum Terms

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BSL Environmental Science Glossary - Debt for nature swaps definition


Definition: This is when a nation that owes money to other countries gets its debts written off in exchange for improving conservation in its own country. The indebted country negotiates with other countries it owes money to, to get its debts wiped clean if they look after the environment like its forests, etc, to which the other countries then agree.

For example, Brazil has huge rainforests which have been extensively cut down. The US has given Brazil $21 million to preserve the rainforests in a mutual financial agreement. Another example is when the WWF charity asked Costa Rica, whose beautiful country was being destroyed, to accept funding to pay off their debts if they agreed to take better care of their environment. This has worked and Costa Rica's rainforests are stunning now.