Le piège vert des échanges dette-nature

The report critiques debt-for-nature swaps as 'green traps' that benefit creditors and international NGOs over debtor nations and local communities. It details how these mechanisms often replace old debts with new, more expensive loans, transfer territorial control to external actors, and encourage the commodification of nature. Through case studies in countries like Belize, Ecuador, and Gabon, the document illustrates the gap between promised conservation funds and actual spending, while highlighting the social costs, including the displacement of indigenous peoples. The author calls for the cancellation of illegitimate debts and the recognition of the North's ecological debt to the South.

• Debt-for-nature swaps (DNS) are characterized as neocolonial tools that maintain the financial dependence of the Global South and facilitate the loss of national sovereignty over territories.
• The financial impact of DNS is minimal compared to total debt; between 1987 and 2023, 202 agreements totaling 8.4 billion dollars were concluded, representing only 0.11% of the 7,600 billion dollars paid by Southern countries in debt service.
• Modern DNS often involve 'blue' or 'green' bonds where debt is bought at a discount on the secondary market and converted into a new loan, often with higher interest rates, benefiting the intermediary NGOs and private creditors.
• Actual conservation funding is often significantly lower than the headline figures due to high transaction costs and the use of trust funds that prioritize financial returns over immediate ecological action.
• DNS can lead to 'green colonialism' by transferring the management of national policies and territories to foreign NGOs and private actors, often without the consent of local populations.
• The report identifies a 'vicious circle' where debt service forces countries to intensify extractive industries (mining, oil, gas, agro-industry) to obtain hard currency, which in turn destroys the biodiversity the DNS claim to protect.
• Case studies reveal severe social impacts, including the expulsion of indigenous peoples and restrictions on food sovereignty, such as in Mexico's Montes Azules reserve and Paraguay's Mbaracayú national park.
• The document argues that the Global North owes a massive 'ecological debt' to the South due to centuries of exploitation, suggesting that rich countries should pay approximately 170 trillion dollars by 2050 to compensate for atmospheric colonization.

APA

Gomez, J. P. P. (2025). Le piège vert des échanges dette-nature. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/28-FoEI-Debt-for-Nature-Swap-Report-FR-rhr.pdf

Chicago

Gomez, Johana Paola Peña. Le piège vert des échanges dette-nature. Friends of the Earth International, 2025. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/28-FoEI-Debt-for-Nature-Swap-Report-FR-rhr.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gomez |first1=Johana Paola Peña |title=Le piège vert des échanges dette-nature |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=2025 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/28-FoEI-Debt-for-Nature-Swap-Report-FR-rhr.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gomez2025pige, author = {Gomez, Johana Paola Peña}, title = {{Le piège vert des échanges dette-nature}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2025}, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/28-FoEI-Debt-for-Nature-Swap-Report-FR-rhr.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }