Indonesia, US seal US$35mil coral reef debt swap

The agreement is the fourth “debt-for-nature” swap the two countries have struck since 2009 and is expected to fund at least 15 years of conservation work in two key areas of what is known as the Coral Triangle. — Reuters

JAKARTA: The United States has agreed to forgive US$35mil of Indonesian debt over the next nine years, the US Treasury says, in return for the South-East Asian country restoring and preserving coral reefs in what experts estimate is the world’s most biodiverse patch of ocean.

Coral reefs are under increasing threat globally, due largely to climate change which is raising sea temperatures.