Ecuador has financing for Galapagos reserve, still open to blue bonds

18/3/2023 6:40

        Ecuador has secured $150 million in financing to manage its expanded marine reserve around the Galapagos, but remains open to blue bonds to benefit
        the environmentally sensitive area, Environment Minister Gustavo Manrique said Friday.
        
        The South American country last year expanded the marine reserve by 60,000 square km (23,166 square miles), in addition to the 138,000 square km (53,282 square miles) already in place, to protect endangered migratory species between the Galapagos and the Cocos Island in Costa Rica.
        
        The Ecuadorean government's plan to finance the expansion of the Hermandad reserve included a potential debt-for-nature swap, but the Andean nation has not yet finalized the agreement.
        
        "In Lisbon, Portugal, we signed $150 million in contributions from private and multilateral agencies that must be invested over the next five years for the protection of the Hermandad marine reserve," Manrique said in a telephone interview with Reuters.