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Good practice Imported

US–Indonesia Debt-for-Nature Swap — $35 Million for Bird's Head and Lesser Sunda-Banda Coral Reefs

Indonesia · Raja Ampat · See the Indonesia profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 89% 27/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

The US and Indonesia converted $35 million of sovereign debt into a nine-year coral reef conservation fund — the first use of the Tropical Forest and Coral Reef Conservation Act for reefs — protecting the Bird's Head and Lesser Sunda-Banda seascapes.

35 USD million
Debt reduction (over 9 years)
US–Indonesia Debt-for-Nature Swap — $35 Million for Bird's Head and Lesser Sunda-Banda Coral Reefs

Details

Maturity
Pilot
Promoter
Yayasan Keanekaragaman Hayati Indonesia (KEHATI)
Period
2024–2034
Keywords
marine conservation, coral reefs, debt conversion, sovereign finance

Context

Signed in July 2024 and financially closed in January 2025, this debt-for-nature swap between the US Treasury and the Government of Indonesia — developed with Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy and Indonesian NGOs — reduces Indonesia's debt payments to the US by $35 million over nine years, the first use of the US Tropical Forest and Coral Reef Conservation Act specifically for coral reefs.

Activities

In exchange, Indonesia redirects equivalent local-currency payments into a coral reef conservation grant fund administered by Yayasan KEHATI, targeting the Bird's Head Seascape (Raja Ampat, West Papua) and the Lesser Sunda-Banda Seascape, channelling grants to local NGOs for reef protection and restoration benefiting nearby communities.

Conclusions

Because the fund only reached financial close in January 2025, no independent post-implementation reef-health or biodiversity outcome has yet been published; the mechanism itself replicates a model already implemented and reviewed in Seychelles, Belize, Barbados, Ecuador and Gabon.

Implementation
Indicative cost
High (€500k–€5M) — $35 million in debt payments converted, unlocking equivalent local-currency funding for the grant fund over nine years.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Signed July 2024, financially closed January 2025, running through 2034.
Staffing & skills
US Treasury and Government of Indonesia as swap counterparties, Yayasan KEHATI administering the coral reef conservation grant fund, Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, YKAN and Yayasan Konservasi Cakrawala Indonesia as developing NGOs

Conditions for success

  • 30-year track record of Yayasan KEHATI as fund administrator
  • Replicable model already implemented in Seychelles, Belize, Barbados, Ecuador and Gabon

Common failure modes

  • No independent post-implementation reef-health or biodiversity outcome published yet given the deal's recency

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes Philanthropic / foundation funding

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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