The U.S. has agreed to forgive $35 million of Indonesian debt over the next nine years, the U.S. Treasury said on Monday, in return for the Southeast Asian country restoring and preserving coral reefs in what experts estimate is the world’s most biodiverse patch of ocean.
Winning situation all around. The US forgives a rounding error’s worth of debt (to us) to get more than its value of environmental preservation; the Indonesian government placates some environmentalists at home and preserves the local environment/tourism draw with what is effectively a massive subsidy to their efforts.