FILE PHOTO: A giant tortoise is seen on a road at Santa Cruz island at Galapagos National Park August 23, 2013. REUTERS/Jorge Silva
LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ecuador sealed the world's largest 'debt-for-nature' swap on record on Tuesday, selling a new "blue bond" that will funnel at least $12 million a year into conservation of the Galapagos Islands, one of the world's most precious ecosystems.
Having bought back roughly $1.6 billion of the country's debt at a near 60% discount late last week with the help of Credit Suisse, Ecuador's minister of foreign affairs Gustavo Manrique Miranda said biodiversity was now a valuable "currency".
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