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Tropical forests are among Earth’s most important natural treasures. They house most of the world’s biodiversity on land, help mitigate climate change, and provide livelihoods for local communities and Indigenous peoples who’ve called them home for centuries.

Yet too often, protected areas with tropical forests lack sustained funding for successful long-term conservation. One way to bridge the gap has repeatedly proven successful over more than 25 years to balance economic needs with conservation priorities: debt-for-nature swaps.

Congress formally established a new program for debt-for-nature swaps, which allow countries to refinance their debts in exchange for redirecting funds toward conservation, in 1998 with the passage of the Tropical Forest Conservation Act. Lawmakers renamed it the Tropical Forest and Coral Reef Conservation Act (TFCCA) in 2019 to include an expansion of countries with coral reefs and mangroves.

The agreements made through this law in partnership with governments and leading conservation organizations are on pace to invest over $380 million for projects to conserve critical tropical forests and coral reef ecosystems in 14 countries and counting.

Here’s a look at how some of those swaps have helped conserve forests over the past quarter-century and what we can expect for the future of this transformative program.

Tropical forests are among Earth’s most important natural treasures. They house most of the world’s biodiversity on land, help mitigate climate change, and provide livelihoods for local communities and Indigenous peoples who’ve called them home for centuries.

Yet too often, protected areas with tropical forests lack sustained funding for successful long-term conservation. One way to bridge the gap has repeatedly proven successful over more than 25 years to balance economic needs with conservation priorities: debt-for-nature swaps.

Congress formally established a new program for debt-for-nature swaps, which allow countries to refinance their debts in exchange for redirecting funds toward conservation, in 1998 with the passage of the Tropical Forest Conservation Act. Lawmakers renamed it the Tropical Forest and Coral Reef Conservation Act (TFCCA) in 2019 to include an expansion of countries with coral reefs and mangroves.

The agreements made through this law in partnership with governments and leading conservation organizations are on pace to invest over $380 million for projects to conserve critical tropical forests and coral reef ecosystems in 14 countries and counting.

Here’s a look at how some of those swaps have helped conserve forests over the past quarter-century and what we can expect for the future of this transformative program.