VICTORIA The island nation of Seychelles designated some of its fragile coastal areas for protection from commercial fishing, oil exploration and development this week, in return for a novel deal relieving it of part of its sovereign debt.
The Indian Ocean nation, rich in underwater reefs and postcard-perfect beaches, defaulted on its debt in 2008 and clawed its way back to prosperity with assistance from the International Monetary Fund.
Since then, government officials have been searching for ways to preserve Seychelles’ environment without endangering financial stability. So the Finance Ministry was intrigued when United States-based conservation group The Nature Conservancy (TNC) approached it recently with a debt-for-nature f…
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