[Coral-List] BLUE BONDS, DEBT FOR NATURE SWAPS & REEF INSURANCE

KEVEN REED reedkc at comcast.net
Sat Apr 16 19:23:27 UTC 2022


Dear Coral-Listers,
No matter where you stand intellectually or emotionally on the slow political response to human overpopulation, greedy consumerism and accelerated climate change producing negative effects on our beloved ecosystems and quality-of-life, a pertinent & surprising Review (nearly a full page in newspaper length) appeared in this Easter-Passover-Ukrainian-Russian War weekend edition of The Wall Street Journal newspaper (WSJ).

"Financing a Healthy Future for Coral Reefs" begins with what every coral-lister already knows about the general stereotype of a "coral reef" occupying less than 1% of the ocean substrate but home to a quarter of all marine species, which leads to the powerful, combined monetary value of coral reefs by the UN Environment Program:  more than $ 2.7 trillion a year.

The WSJ review article author, Dr. Berwald, goes on to illuminate some recent paradigm shifts:  She writes that the world's first insurance policy to protect a marine ecosystem was issued by Swiss Re, covering 100 miles of Cancun's reefs.  How this policy was funded and how it expedited Mexico's Yucatan response to the October 2020 stony coral damage from Hurricane Delta's 100-knot winds with a nearly $ 800,000 payout is surprising (to me).

Having followed prominent coral-lister's posts in recent years about the coral-rehabilitation efforts in the Seychelles, I was amazed by some of the details in the back-story as provided by Juli Berwald's review article in this weekend's issue of The Wall Street Journal newspaper.  Have you heard of Ronald Jumeau, Seychelles' ambassador to the U.N., reaching out to The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in 2012?  Are you aware of the 1998 U.S. Tropical Forest Conservation Act's effect upon debt forgiveness in developing countries in exchange for their efforts in forest habitat conservation?

I respectfully and most strongly recommend my esteemed fellow coral-listers find a copy of page C3 in the April 16-17, 2022 issue of the WSJ newspaper.  Reading the article titled "Financing a Healthy Future for Coral Reefs" by Julie Berwald will hopefully provide each of us with some more proverbial 'tools to hang on our utility belts' or 'weapons in our armory' (pick your metaphor).  Hopefully you haven't already given up on your role as being a steward of the finite resources on this blue marble we're all riding for a little while.

Please allow me to conclude this post with a quote from The WSJ newspaper article:
"The market's acceptance of novel financial tools linked to coral health suggests that the world is starting to recognize that reefs aren't just scientifically or emotionally significant, but quantifiably valuable.  Blue bonds, debt for nature swaps, reef insurance and other new instruments show that it's possible to address environmental goals and business goals at the same time, paving the way for solutions to be found faster."--by Julie Berwald, The WSJ, page C3 April 16-17, 2022.  

K. C. Reed sends

Keven C. Reed, O.D.                      mobile:  904-505-7277
ICRS member
American Microscopical Society, member
AAAS, member
Fellow Emeritus of the American Academy of Optometry
Divemaster



More information about the Coral-List mailing list