Ecuador is utilizing innovative conservation funding tools, such as biodiversity credits and debt-for-nature swaps, alongside upcoming plans to issue sovereign green bonds by 2027. Simultaneously, the state continues to pursue oil tenders and critical mineral extraction, highlighting a persistent reliance on fossil fuels that accounted for about 80% of its energy generation in 2024. Environmental and Indigenous groups have pushed back with protests as the nation attempts to manage illegal mining and raise public awareness.
Key points
Ecuador plans to issue its first sovereign green bonds in 2027 with guidance provided by…: Ecuador plans to issue its first sovereign green bonds in 2027 with guidance provided by the European Union.
Government plans to launch new oil exploration tenders in the Amazon have provoked protes…: Government plans to launch new oil exploration tenders in the Amazon have provoked protests from Indigenous and environmental groups.
Officials are introducing biodiversity credits covering a 260-hectare area of the Prosper…: Officials are introducing biodiversity credits covering a 260-hectare area of the Prosperina forest to fund verified multi-dimensional ecological outcomes.
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Ecuador, known for its "megadiverse" Galapagos Islands, Amazon rainforest, Andes and Pacific coast, wants to protect its natural landscapes for years to come — but it faces a tricky balancing act.
As well as preserving its nature, the South American country also plans to capitalize on its critical minerals and continue to extract oil from parts of the Amazon — both of which have led to protests from Indigenous and environmental groups.
One way Ecuador is planning to channel funds into its nature is via new financial tools, such as "debt-for-nature" swaps and its first sovereign green bond. It is also aiming to raise its environmental profile on the global stage by hosting the U.N.'s biodiversity summit, known as COP18, in 2028.
Ecuador, which uses the U.S. dollar, is no stranger to green finance. In March, IDB Invest, the private-sector arm of the Inter-American Development Bank, and Ecuadorian lender Banco Bolivariano issued a $120 million biodiversity bond to back conservation projects. The government also completed two swaps in 2023 and 2024 — deals in which a country's debt is refinanced…
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