None Nature Conservancy News Room Press Releases Search All Press Releases Jordan Peavey (703) 841-5980 jpeavey@tnc.org

The Nature Conservancy Contributes to $11 Million Panama and U.S. Debt-for-Nature Swap

U.S. and Panamanian Governments Protect More Than One Million Acres of One of the Continent’s Last Wild Frontiers

Arlington, VA—August 19, 2004—Today, with the commitment from The Nature Conservancy of $1.3 million, the United States and Panamanian governments signed a debt-for-nature swap that will help protect the nearly one and a half million-acre Darien National Park and surrounding areas.

The U.S. Government is also contributing $6.5 million toward this swap, which will reduce Panama’s debt to the United States by nearly $11 million.  In return, the government of Panama will provide nearly $11 million over the next 12 years to an environmental trust fund that will channel the money into projects to strengthen protection of the 1.4 million-acre Darien National Park.  The park forms the land-bridge between the Central and South American continents and has one of the highest concentrations of species in tropical America.

“Panama’s unique geographical position, as a bridge between two continents, supports a rich variety of plant and animal species from North and South America,” said Steve McCormick, president of The Nature Conservancy.  “We are proud to contribute to the protection of such a biologically and economically important area.”
 
Darien National Park contains the largest section of protected forests in Panama and is relatively undisturbed.  This park encompasses a range of geographies from sandy beaches to rich tropical forests where 2,490 species of plants flourish.  The park also contains an astonishing concentration of wildlife, including 169 species of mammals, 533 species of birds, 99 species of reptiles, 78 species of amphibians and 50 species of fish.  The region is also anthropologically and historically rich as the home of three major indigenous groups, the Emberá, Wounaan and Kunas, who continue to live by traditional practices.

In addition to its environmental and anthropological importance, Darien National Park is the watershed to the Gulf of San Miguel, the most productive shrimp-harvesting site in the country.  If the forest were not able to replenish and nourish the Gulf, then Panama’s shrimping industry, and consequently the country’s economy, would be significantly damaged.

Unfortunately, the park’s substantial natural resources are under growing pressure from agriculture and development.

United States Ambassador to Panama Linda Watt, Panamanian Finance and Economy Minister Norberto Delgado and The Nature Conservancy Panama Program Director George Hanily signed the agreement today in a ceremony in Panama.  Under the terms of the agreements, the United States government will provide $6.5 million toward the transaction and The Nature Conservancy will contribute $1.3 million.  In return, the Panamanian government will make payments totaling $10.9 million. Over the course of 12 years, half of the total funds will be used to create an endowment to ensure long-term financial stability for the park and its management.  The rest of the money will be used to fund immediate conservation priorities.

The debt-swap mechanism used in Panama is provided for under the Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA) of 1998, also known as the Portman Bill.  The TFCA legislation is intended to help countries with significant tropical forest simultaneously reduce their debt to the U.S. Government while protecting their tropical forests.  Congress is currently in the process of reauthorizing the Tropical Forest Conservation Act, so that the U.S. Government can continue these types of transactions.

“The Tropical Forest Conservation Act has provided an extremely effective mechanism for long term funding of conservation activities in key tropical landscapes,” said George Hanily, director of the Conservancy’s Panama program.  “The debt swap mechanism is a terrific opportunity for the US government and tropical countries such as The Republic of Panama, resulting in environmental conservation and economic development through debt relief.”

Stuart Irvin and Cecilia Macazana Barragán of Covington & Burling acted as U.S. counsel to The Nature Conservancy. Panamanian legal counsel was provided by Ramón Ricardo Arias of Galindo, Arias & López.

“The Nature Conservancy has taken the lead in developing and implementing innovative legal structures to help conserve tropical forests in developing countries. This deal not only provides funding for conservation in the Darien region in perpetuity, it also reduces the sovereign debt of the Government of Panama,” said Stuart Irvin of Covington & Burling.  “It serves two very important social objectives in developing countries — conservation and debt relief. This is something that could not have been achieved using more traditional methods.”

This is the fifth debt-for-nature swap by the U.S. government under the TFCA facilitated through a financial contribution from The Nature Conservancy, and the second for Panama, which has achieved debt swaps in two consecutive years.

###

The Nature Conservancy is a leading international, non-profit organization that preserves the plants, animals and natural communities representing the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit us on the Web at nature.org.

Learn more online about the topics discussed in this press release:

The Nature Conservancy's Panama Program
The Nature Conservancy is working with Panama's leading environmental organizations to protect the country's remarkable biological diversity — from the forests surrounding the Panama Canal to the Caribbean islands of Bocas del Toro.

Darien National Park
Forming a bridge between the two continents of the New World, Darien National Park contains an exceptional variety of habitats – sandy beaches, rocky coasts, mangroves, swamps, and lowland and upland tropical forests containing remarkable wildlife.

Tropical Forest Conservation Act
The Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA) was enacted in 1998 to offer eligible developing countries options to relieve certain official debt owed the U.S. while at the same time generating funds to support local tropical forest conservation activities.