Peru and US strike $20 mn Amazon-focused debt for nature deal

The United States has struck a deal with Peru that will help the Latin American country restore and protect some of its parts of the Amazon rainforest in return for a $20 million cut in its debt.

The debt-for-nature swap, as these kinds of agreements are known will put money towards conserving protected areas of the Amazon, improving natural resource management, and supporting sustainable livelihoods for communities that rely on the rainforest, the US Treasury said in a statement.

It is made possible through contributions of $15 million by the US government under the Tropical Forest and Coral Reef Conservation Act (TFCCA) and a combined donation of $3 million from four international non-governmental organizations — Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, Wildlife Conservation Society, and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

This is the third debt-for-nature swap between the United States and Peru and took around two years to finalize. According to the Treasury, the first two swaps occurred in 2002 and 2008 and together generated about $36 million, for the restoration, conservation, management, and sustainable use of tropical forests.