Sri Lanka looks at debt relief through nature conservation

FILE PHOTO: A participant stands near a logo of IMF at the International Monetary Fund - REUTERS/Johannes P. Christo

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka is in talks with the United Nations Development Programme and other agencies for a debt-for-nature swap programme, as the South Asian island faces its worst economic crisis in decades.

The country is in the preliminary stages of structuring a deal, Anil Jasinghe, secretary to the Environment Ministry, said by phone. The plan involves restoring a degraded eco-system in exchange for cancelling debt, he said.