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Are debt-for-nature swaps scalable: Which nature, how much debt, and who pays?

ABSTRACT: With the ongoing sovereign debt and biodiversity crises in many emerging economies, applications of debt-for-nature swaps as a dual solution for sovereign debt and nature conservation have been re-emerging. We analyze how debt-for-nature swaps (DNS) can be scaled to protect biodiversity priority areas and reduce debt burden. We build a dataset for biodiversity conservation and debt restructuring in 67 countries at risk of sovereign debt distress and show that they hold over 22% of global biodiversity priority areas, 82.96% of which are unprotected. Furthermore, we show that for 35 of the 67 countries, using conservative cost estimates, 100% of unprotected biodiversity priority areas could be protected for a fraction of debt; for the remaining countries, applying DNS would allow the protection of 11-13% of currently unprotected biodiversity priority areas. By applying interdisciplinary research combining fundamental biodiversity and economic data and methods merging, the research contributes methodologically and practically to the understanding of debt-for-nature swaps for emerging economies.

SUBMITTER: Nedopil C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10692041 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Are debt-for-nature swaps scalable: Which nature, how much debt, and who pays?

Nedopil Christoph C Yue Mengdi M Hughes Alice C AC

Ambio 20230902 1

With the ongoing sovereign debt and biodiversity crises in many emerging economies, applications of debt-for-nature swaps as a dual solution for sovereign debt and nature conservation have been re-emerging. We analyze how debt-for-nature swaps (DNS) can be scaled to protect biodiversity priority areas and reduce debt burden. We build a dataset for biodiversity conservation and debt restructuring in 67 countries at risk of sovereign debt distress and show that they hold over 22% of global biodive ...[more]

PMID: 37658986

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Project description:ObjectivesOut-of-pocket (OOP) payment for modern contraception is an understudied component of healthcare financing in countries like Kenya, where wealth gradients in met need have prompted efforts to expand access to free contraception. This study aims to examine whether, among public sector providers, the poor are more likely to receive free contraception and to compare how OOP payment for injectables and implants-two popular methods-differs by public/private provider type and user's sociodemographic characteristics.Design, setting and participantsSecondary analyses of nationally representative, cross-sectional household data from the 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey. Respondents were women of reproductive age (15-49 years). The sample comprised 5717 current modern contraception users, including 2691 injectable and 1073 implant users with non-missing expenditure values.Main outcomeRespondent's self-reported source and payment to obtain their current modern contraceptive method.MethodsWe used multivariable logistic regression to examine predictors of free public sector contraception and compared average expenditure for injectable and implant. Quintile ratios examined progressivity of non-zero expenditure by wealth.ResultsHalf of public sector users reported free contraception; this varied considerably by method and region. Users of implants, condoms, pills and intrauterine devices were all more likely to report receiving their method for free (p<0.001) compared with injectable users. The poorest were as likely to pay for contraception as the wealthiest users at public providers (OR: 1.10, 95% CI: 0.64 to 1.91). Across all providers, among users with non-zero expenditure, injectable and implant users reported a mean OOP payment of Kenyan shillings (KES) 80 (US$0.91), 95% CI: KES 78 to 82 and KES 378 (US$4.31), 95% CI: KES 327 to 429, respectively. In the public sector, expenditure was pro-poor for injectable users yet weakly pro-rich for implant users.ConclusionsMore attention is needed to targeting subsidies to the poorest and ensuring government facilities are equipped to cope with lost user fee revenue.

Project description:BackgroundA record number of older individuals have household debt, but little is known about possible links between debts and their mental wellbeing. This study examines the extent to which different aspects of household indebtedness predict mental wellbeing among this population.MethodsA sample of 17,091 individuals (72,700 observations) aged 50 and over in England was derived from waves 1-8 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Mental wellbeing was assessed by two outcome measures: number of depressive symptoms (CES-D 8) and quality of life (CASP-19 score). The predictors of mental wellbeing were examined using quartiles of non-zero overall debt amount, debt-to-income and debt-to-non-housing wealth ratios as alternative measures of debt burden. Linear regression models estimated the associations of mortgage and non-mortgage debt measures with mental wellbeing while adjusting for observable socioeconomic confounding factors. Individual fixed effect models were used to control for all time-constant factors among a longitudinal subsample.ResultsIndividuals in the highest debt-to-wealth quartile were particularly at risk of lower mental wellbeing, that is, a higher number of depressive symptoms and lower quality of life. After covariate adjustment, non-mortgage debt predicted lower mental wellbeing on both measures but mortgage debt was only linked to lower quality of life. Among the subsample who experienced changes in high non-mortgage debt levels, a small association of these changes with mental wellbeing outcomes were observed. Asymmetric within-individual estimation showed that both getting rid of and acquiring new debts during the study period predicted symmetrically (small) increases and decreases, respectively, in mental wellbeing.ConclusionThese findings indicate that among older individuals in England, non-mortgage debt status is linked to poor mental wellbeing. High, non-mortgage, debt-to-wealth ratios may help identify risk of mental wellbeing issues in older people with debts.

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Are debt-for-nature swaps scalable: Which nature, how much debt, and who pays?

Publications

Are debt-for-nature swaps scalable: Which nature, how much debt, and who pays?

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