The United States Government
and the Government of Indonesia began discussions in January toward conclusion
of a second debt-for-nature agreement. The U.S. Tropical Forest Conservation
Act, or TFCA, provides grants to support activities such as conserving
protected forest areas, improving natural resource management and supporting
the development of sustainable livelihoods for communities that rely on
forests. The U.S Department of the Treasury has provisionally set aside more
than nineteen million dollars for the treatment of eligible debt.
The first TFCA agreement with Indonesia, signed on June 30, 2009, will reduce
the country's debt payments to the U.S. Government by nearly thirty million
dollars over eight years. In return, the Government of Indonesia will commit
these funds to support grants to protect and restore tropical forests in
Sumatra. The agreement was the largest debt-for-nature swap under the TFCA thus
far and was made possible through contributions of twenty million dollars by
the U.S. Government and a combined donation of two million dollars from
Conservation International and the Indonesian Biodiversity Foundation.
To date, thirteen countries have entered into debt-for-nature agreements under
the Tropical Forest Conservation Act. These are: Bangladesh, Belize, Botswana,
Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Indonesia, Jamaica, Panama, which
has two agreements, Paraguay, Peru, which also has two agreements, and the
Philippines. Over time, these fifteen debt-for-nature programs will together
generate more than two-hundred-eighteen-million dollars to protect tropical
forests.
The United States is committed to working with Indonesia and other nations to
help protect tropical forests and the rich diversity of life they sustain.
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