The Belize Debt-for-Nature Swap

In the Fall of 2001, The Nature Conservancy (the Conservancy), the United States Government (USG), and the Government of Belize (GOB) agreed to enter into a debt-for-nature swap project to preserve approximately 23,000 acres of rainforest in Belize and provide for its management well into the future.
The project, the first of its kind under the Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA or the Act), provides for the reduction of debts with a total face value of $9.7 million1 owed by Belize, in exchange for payments to local conservation organizations. By contributing over $1 million dollars2 to the project, the Conservancy was the first non-governmental organization (NGO) to become an outside party in a sovereign-tosovereign debt-swap.