International Conservation Caucus

Issues: Congo Basin Forest Partnership | Great Cats and Rare Canids Act | International Conservation Budget | Megatransect and Mega Flyover | Tropical Forest Conservation Act

Tropical Forest Conservation Act

Regrettably, tropical forests are rapidly disappearing. It is estimated that 30 million acres are lost each year. The heavy debt burden of many countries is a contributing factor because they must resort to the exploitation of their natural resources, like timber, to generate revenue to service their external debt. The Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA) addresses these economic pressures by allowing eligible countries to engage in debt swaps, buybacks or restructuring in exchange for protecting threatened tropical forests on a sustained basis.

Since enactment of the TFCA in 1998, more than 39.5 million acres of tropical forests will be protected by TFCA agreements. Seven agreements have been concluded to date: Bangladesh, El Salvador, Belize, Peru, the Philippines, Panama and Colombia. Agreements are currently being negotiated with Jamaica and Sri Lanka. Many other areas have also expressed interest.

The TFCA program is intended to promote tropical forest conservation worldwide and is based on the Enterprise for the America's Initiative, which focused solely on Latin America.

More on this topic:

Tropical Forest Conservation Act Fact Sheet (State Department)

Innovative Financing for Forest Conservation and the Environment: Tropical Forest Conservation Act and Enterprise for the Americas Initiative (USAID)