Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Debt-for-nature swap · Belize · 2021–2041

Belize blue bond

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 1 not disclosed · 2 not measured · 1 disputed See the gaps

A debt buyback tied to protecting 30% of Belize's ocean. Protection stands at 20.3%; about $6 million in grants were approved in three and a half years.

$84–86mPremiums and costs over the deal's life
UNCTAD expert and TNC figures.
What?
In November 2021 Belize bought back its $553 million "superbond" at 55 cents on the dollar with a $364 million loan from a subsidiary of The Nature Conservancy, financed by blue bonds arranged by Credit Suisse and insured by the US DFC. In return Belize committed about $180 million to ocean conservation over 20 years and to protect 30% of its ocean by 2026. LSE International Development blog
Where?
Belize's ocean territory; the blue bonds were issued through a Cayman Islands vehicle, and the deal was announced at COP26.
When?
Announced in November 2021 at COP26; protection stood at 20.3% in January 2024 and May 2025, when about $6m in grants had been approved. The 30% target falls in 2026 and the conservation commitment runs to 2041. San Pedro Sun
Who?
Gained
  • Government of Belize — Retired a $553m bond with a $364m loan, cutting the debt's face value by about $189m (about 12% of GDP, estimate); Prime Minister John Briceño said Belize "realized over 1.1 billion dollars in savings". LSE International Development blog
  • Blue-bond investors, including the Swedish pension fund Alecta — Receive the interest on $364m of DFC-insured blue bonds; Alecta bought only after the insurance was in place. The spread between what Belize pays and what investors receive is $84m (UNCTAD expert) or $86m (TNC) over the deal's life. LSE International Development blog
  • US DFC and its reinsurers, including Chubb — Premiums for insuring the loan, part of the $84–86m lifetime spread; the DFC cover was $610m, of which Chubb and others reinsured $300m. Chubb
  • Credit Suisse — Arranged and underwrote the blue bonds; it said it had "provisioned to cover ongoing transaction costs" and declined to state its earnings.
  • The Nature Conservancy — About $14m of deal costs included repaying a $10.5m TNC loan.
Lost
  • Holders of the "superbond" — Accepted a 45% haircut when Belize bought the bond back at 55 cents on the dollar. LSE International Development blog
  • Government of Belize — Pays premiums and costs of $84–86m over the deal's life; interest on the blue loan starts at 3% and rises to 6% in 2026. Bloomberg Línea
Harmed
None on record
Why?
The stated purpose was to cut Belize's debt and fund ocean conservation: the loan was tied to protecting 30% of Belize's ocean by 2026 and about $180m for conservation over 20 years. LSE International Development blog
How?
A TNC subsidiary lent Belize $364m to buy back its bond at a discount; Credit Suisse funded the loan by selling blue bonds through a Cayman Islands vehicle, and the DFC insured it so a pension fund would buy. Belize's conservation payments go to the Belize Fund for a Sustainable Future, which makes grants. LSE International Development blog
In proportion About $6m in grants approved in three and a half years is about 3% of the roughly $180m committed over 20 years (estimate). San Pedro Sun
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

In November 2021, announced at COP26, Belize bought back its $553 million "superbond" at 55 cents on the dollar.

It funded the buyback with a $364 million loan from a subsidiary of The Nature Conservancy (TNC). Credit Suisse financed the loan by issuing blue bonds through a Cayman Islands vehicle. The US DFC insured the loan; the Swedish pension fund Alecta bought the bonds after the insurance was in place.

Belize committed about $180 million to ocean conservation over 20 years and to protect 30% of its ocean by 2026.

  1. 2021Buyback at 55 cents; blue loan from TNC subsidiary
  2. 2024Ocean protection 20.3%
  3. 2025About $6m in grants approved; protection still 20.3%
  4. 202630% target year

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

“We realized over 1.1 billion dollars in savings.”

John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize · 2023

“I find this profoundly concerning.”

Daniel Munevar, UNCTAD, on the cost spread · 2023

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • 30% of the ocean protected
  • $1.1 billion saved

Recorded

  • Protected: 20.3% (2024 and 2025)
  • Grants approved in 3.5 years: about $6m
  • Credit Suisse declined to state its earnings

Who gained

Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

Reached nature or the ground

≈ $6m
Grants approved by May 2025$6m
Window: 3.5 years
Commitment over 20 years commitment$180m
Window: 2021–2041

Gained elsewhere

Not totalled
Spread between what Belize pays and investors receive (premiums, costs)$85m
Window: deal lifetime
$84m (UNCTAD expert) or $86m (TNC).
Credit Suisse earnings—
Not disclosed.
Currency: USD · Window: Mixed — see each line. Figures cover different periods and are not compared as a ratio. * Estimate built from cited figures.

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

Insurers

  1. 2021Paid
    US DFC, with reinsurers → Blue loan investors

    DFC insured the blue loan; the bond buyer purchased only after the insurance was in place. No claim reported.

What nature saw

Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

Ocean protected
20.3%
Target 30% by 2026
Independent ecological evaluation
None
None found

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
No court caseNo independent ecological evaluationKey earnings undisclosed

Nature

  • Not measured Harm to nature: No independent ecological evaluation is on record.

Money

Court

Record

  • None on record Credit Suisse's earnings on the transaction.
  • Disputed Two official figures for grants allocated conflict (BZ$12m vs BZ$14.6m).
  • Not measured No independent ecological evaluation.

Did the harm stop?

No specific harm was named. The protection target has not been reached.

Who paid?

Belize, through premiums and costs; bondholders who accepted a 45% haircut.

Sources

Voices on record: ✓ Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society✓ Researchers

Company or project

Press and investigations

  2. Blue bond update
    San Pedro Sun · 2025

Researchers

  1. Do debt-for-nature swaps work? Learning from Belize
    LSE International Development blog · 2023-02-28

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
Terms used on this page

Carbon and conservation finance

Blue bond
A bond or loan whose terms or proceeds are tied to ocean and marine conservation.
Retired credit
A credit that has been used to make a climate claim and is permanently removed from circulation in the registry.
Superbond
The name commonly used for Belize's main international bond, created by consolidating earlier debts.

Insurance

Political-risk insurance
Insurance that protects lenders and investors against losses caused by government actions, such as a state failing to pay.
Premium
The price paid for an insurance policy.
Reinsurance
Insurance bought by insurers to pass part of their own risk to other companies.

Institutions

DFC
The US International Development Finance Corporation, a government agency that lends to and insures private projects abroad.
UNCTAD
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

Places and local terms

Conservancy (Kenya)
In Kenya, land managed by a community or private owners for wildlife alongside grazing, often with outside partners.

Bonds and banking

Arranger
The bank that structures and sells a bond or loan deal, usually for a fee.
Delaware, Guernsey, Cayman Islands
Jurisdictions widely used to register companies, funds and accounts for legal, confidentiality and tax reasons.
Guarantee
A commitment by a third party, often a development bank, to pay if the borrower does not.
Haircut
A cut in the value that creditors receive on a debt, for example when bonds are bought back below their face value.
Special purpose vehicle (SPV)
A separate legal company created for a single transaction, often registered in a low-tax jurisdiction.
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