An ingenious proposal for scaling up marine protection | The Nature Conservancy

譯者: Zoe Chang 審譯者: Marssi Draw

Ah, earth's oceans.

啊，地球的海洋。

They are beautiful, inspiring, life-sustaining.

美麗、振奮人心、維持生態平衡。

They are also, as you're probably quite aware, more or less screwed.

可是也正如你可能意識到的， 海洋也多少遭到破壞了。

In the Seychelles, for example,

比方說，在塞席爾，

human activities and climate change have left corals bleached.

人為活動和氣候變化導致珊瑚白化。

Overfishing has caused fish stocks to plummet.

過度捕撈導致魚群種類驟減。

Biodiversity is in peril.

生物多樣性岌岌可危。

So what can we do?

那我們能做什麼呢？

Well, some form of protection, obviously.

顯然要有某種形式的保護。

Nature is very resilient.

大自然韌性很強。

When marine areas are strategically protected,

只要對海洋區域實施策略性保護，

entire ecosystems can bounce back.

整個生態系統可以很快恢復平衡。

However, creating marine protected areas isn't easy.

然而，創建海洋保護區並非易事。

First, you have the issue of figuring out where to protect.

首先，你得要先決定保護地點。

This coral reef overlaps with that international fishing route,

這個珊瑚礁與國際漁業路線重疊，

intersects with this fish hatchery.

也跟那個魚苗孵化場相交。

Everything is interconnected.

環環相扣。

And marine protection plans must take into account

海洋保護計劃必須將

區域與區域間的相互影響都考慮進去。

how one area affects another.

Then, there's the issue of getting everyone on board.

再來，就是如何讓所有人 都一起投入努力的議題。

Coastal economies often rely on fishing and tourism.

沿海經濟往往依賴漁業和觀光業。

If people think they can't do their work,

如果人們以為生計會受到影響，

there's no chance of getting the local buy-in you need

那你就得不到必要的地區性支持

for the area to be successful.

來讓保護區成功運作。

Marine protected areas must also be enforced.

海洋保護區也必須徹底執行。

That means the government itself must be deeply invested in the plan.

也就是說政府必須深切投入計劃中。

Token support will not cut it.

象徵性的支持是不夠的。

And finally, conservation requires money.

最後，保育工作需要錢。

A lot of it.

很多錢。

Governments in island and coastal nations may want to protect their waters,

島國和沿海國家的政府 可能也想保護其水域，

but often these nations have very high debt

可是往往這些國家的外債很高，

and can't afford to prioritize conservation.

無法優先考慮保育工作。

If we rely on philanthropic dollars alone to fund marine protection,

單靠慈善捐款資助海洋保育的話，

we might get a small marine-protected area here,

結果可能就是這裡做一個 小型的海洋保護區，

another little one there.

那裡也做一個。

But we need more marine protected areas faster,

但我們需要加速建立 更多的海洋保護區，

to have lasting impact.

才能發揮持久的影響。

So what exactly does smart ocean conservation look like?

那聰明的海洋保育該怎麼做？

How do we get the money, government support and careful planning

我們要如何獲得資金、 政府支持和審慎的規劃，

that takes into account both local economies

同時還考慮到當地經濟

and complex ecosystems?

以及複雜的生態系統？

We want to share with you an audacious idea

大自然保護協會（TNC）想要分享

from The Nature Conservancy.

我們的一個大膽的想法。

It seeks to address all of these things in one fell swoop.

一個或能一舉解決所有的問題的想法。

They've realized that debt held by island and coastal nations

TNC 意識到島國及沿海國家的債務

is the very thing that will enable them to achieve their conservation goals.

正是能用來達成保育計畫的關鍵。

TNC's idea is to restructure this debt,

TNC 的想法是將債務重組，

to generate the funds and political will

創造資金及政府意願

to protect reefs, mangroves and fisheries.

用來保護珊瑚礁、紅樹林和漁業。

For example, if you refinance your house

舉例來說，你在利率較低時

to take advantage of a better interest rate,

將你的房子再融資，

maybe you use the savings to insulate your attic.

拿省下來的錢去做閣樓的隔熱工程。

That's what Blue Bonds for Conservation do for entire coastal countries.

專為沿海國家設計的 藍色保育債券就是這樣。

Refinance the debt,

將債務再融資，

then use the savings to create marine protected areas.

用省下來的錢創建海洋保護區。

Of course, sovereign debt restructuring is more complicated than that,

當然，主權債務重組比這更複雜，

but you get the basic idea.

但基本的概念就是這樣。

If investors put in 40 million dollars now,

假設投資者投入 4000 萬美元，

it can unlock as much as 1.6 billion for ocean conservation.

就可以釋放多達 16 億的海洋保育基金。

And this is how the work gets done.

接下來就換我們去完成工作。

Step one: negotiate the deal.

第一步：協商交易。

A coastal nation commits to protect at least 30 percent of its ocean areas.

沿海國家承諾保護 30％ 的海域。

In exchange, The Nature Conservancy bring investors, public funders

大自然保護協會就幫忙 找投資者、公債資助者，

and international development organizations

也找來國際發展組織，

to the table to restructure a portion of the nation's debt,

一起研議如何重組該國的債款，

leading to lower interest rates and longer repayment periods.

提供更低的利率和更長的還款期。

Step two: create a marine plan.

第二步：制定海洋計劃。

Simultaneously, The Nature Conservancy works with marine scientists,

大自然保護協會同時也與海洋科學家、

government leaders and local stakeholders

政府領導人和當地利害關係人，

to create a detailed conservation plan

合作制定出詳細的保護計畫，

that integrates the needs of the ocean with the needs of the people.

將海洋的需求與人民的需求結合起來。

Step three: activate for longevity.

第三步：啟動永續運作。

TNC establishes an independently run conservation trust fund.

TNC 成立一個獨立運作的 保護信託基金。

The savings from the debt restructure goes into it

經由債務重組省下的錢 就存入信託基金中，

to support new marine protected areas.

用在建立新的海洋保護區。

The trust then holds the government accountable for its commitments,

同時信託基金也監督 政府是否達到承諾，

ensuring that the Blue Bonds finance real protection efforts.

將藍色債券確實用在保育工作上。

Could this plan work?

這個計劃能成功嗎？

It already has.

已經成功了。

In 2016, TNC helped create a national conservation plan in the Seychelles.

2016 年，TNC 幫助塞席爾 制定了國家級的保護計劃。

TNC restructured 22 million dollars of the government's debt.

TNC 將該政府的 2200 萬美元債務重組。

And in exchange, the government agreed to protect 30 percent of its marine areas.

交換條件是，塞席爾政府 同意保護其 30％ 的海域。

Today, the Seychelles is on track

今天，塞席爾正朝著

to protect 400,000 square kilometers of ocean.

40 萬平方公里海域保育目標前進。

That's an area roughly the size of Germany.

那大致相當於德國的面積。

The Seychelles is protecting its coral reefs,

塞席爾保護他們的珊瑚礁，

it's replenishing its fisheries,

幫助漁業回歸榮景，

it's improving its resilience to climate change.

也提高了對氣候變化的應變能力。

At the same time, it's strengthening its economy.

與此同時，經濟也增強了。

This success is making other governments take note.

其他的國家注意到了這個成功案例。

Many want to be part of this.

許多政府希望也能參與。

There's an opportunity to scale this up, dramatically.

我們有機會大幅地擴大規模。

And fast.

而且很快。

TNC has identified 20 more nations where such a plan should be possible.

TNC 已經鎖定其他 20 個計畫可行的國家。

But to execute, they need seed capital.

但要開始，他們需要先有種子資本。

And to put in place local teams who can develop conservation plans,

同時要建立能制定發展 保護計畫的當地團隊，

work with all the stakeholders and structure the deals.

由他們去跟利害關係人 協商，訂定合作辦法。

If they get the support they need over the next five years,

假如他們能在五年內獲得所需的支持，

they could protect four million square kilometers of ocean.

他們就能保護四百萬平方公里的海洋。

That's 10 Germanies.

那是十個德國大小的面積。

This would increase the amount of protected areas

這麼一來能將全世界

in all of the world's oceans

海洋保護區的總量

by an incredible 15 percent.

提高整整 15 個百分比 。

It would allow vast tracks of the world's coral reefs to replenish

也能促進全世界浩瀚的珊瑚礁再生，

and give safe harbor to countless species.

為無數的物種提供一個安全港。

This would be truly incredible.

這真的很不可思議。

And it's really just the beginning.

且這還只是開端。

Because there aren't 20 countries in the world

因為世界上不只 20 個國家

where this kind of debt conversion would work.

能夠利用債務重組去做海洋保育。

There are almost 100.

有將近 100 個。

With this approach, everyone wins.

這樣做讓每個人都成為贏家。

Governments, local citizens, funders,

政府、當地居民、出資者，

and most importantly, our oceans.

最重要的是，我們的海洋。

So in fact, we all win.

所以事實上，我們全都贏。

Ah, earth's oceans.

啊，地球的海洋。

[The Audacious Project]

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