Belize’s Blue Bond Success Shared with Developing Nations

The success of the Belize Blue Bond was shared this week with other developing countries as an example of how countries can alleviate the debt burden using its natural resources.  This is not the first time that Belize has been an exemplary player in the debt for nature swap.  In the case of Ecuador, which now owns the largest blue bond, Belize’s case study was crucial in their debt burden relief.  In Monday’s session, Minister of Sustainable Development and Climate Change, Orlando Habet, opened the meeting as the head of the Belize delegation.  Presenting on the structure, benefits and challenges of the Belize Blue Bonds from concept, creation, and implementation was the Director of the Blue Bonds and Finance Permanence Unit, Beverly Wade.  According to Minister Habet, several of the countries looked at the principle of the Blue Bond initiative with a mind to apply their country’s resources the debt swap program.

Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development: “My presentation on the issue of the Blue Bond and how it afforded us a leeway to get out of some of our debt and to make that debt sustainability have positive impacts on our economy also mentioning the fact that it brought about an endowment fund, conservation fund that will grow for the next 20 years at $4 million dollars per year will be invested back into nature was taken really well and also the fact that immediately after the bond was issued that we had a better credit rating internationally bringing us back to a B-. So countries in SIDS like the idea. Of course not everyone as they mention have the same particular assets. Some island states don’t have much in terms of land space but they have a lot of sea space, maybe much larger than Belize. So they have to look at those assets that they have , do an evaluation of the value of those assets. Certainly look at whether or not these can be used for debt restructuring or any other measure that can be put in place and then make a decision of that. We had Seychelles in one of those meetings who were the ones who initiated these blue bonds way back and their thing was they served as sort of a pilot and if they had done it now they certainly would have gone for a bigger amount of money to have a bigger blue bond than what they had. Belize also with not keeping the information to ourselves but sharing  amongst our partners in various meetings not only this week but in the last two years afforded other countries to start looking at it and we know now that the largest blue bond now is held by Ecuador when Belize held it for at least two years.”