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Ah, earth's oceans.

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They are beautiful,
inspiring, life-sustaining.

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

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In the Seychelles, for example,

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human activities and climate change
have left corals bleached.

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Overfishing has caused
fish stocks to plummet.

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Biodiversity is in peril.

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So what can we do?

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Well, some form of protection, obviously.

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Nature is very resilient.

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When marine areas
are strategically protected,

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entire ecosystems can bounce back.

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However, creating marine
protected areas isn't easy.

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

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This coral reef overlaps with that
international fishing route,

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intersects with this fish hatchery.

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Everything is interconnected.

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And marine protection plans
must take into account

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how one area affects another.

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

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Coastal economies
often rely on fishing and tourism.

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If people think they can't do their work,

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

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for the area to be successful.

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Marine protected areas
must also be enforced.

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

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Token support will not cut it.

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And finally, conservation requires money.

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A lot of it.

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

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but often these nations
have very high debt

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and can't afford
to prioritize conservation.

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

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we might get a small
marine-protected area here,

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another little one there.

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But we need more
marine protected areas faster,

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to have lasting impact.

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So what exactly does
smart ocean conservation look like?

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

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that takes into account
both local economies

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and complex ecosystems?

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We want to share with you
an audacious idea

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from The Nature Conservancy.

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

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

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

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TNC's idea is to restructure this debt,

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to generate the funds and political will

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to protect reefs, mangroves and fisheries.

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For example, if you refinance your house

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to take advantage
of a better interest rate,

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maybe you use the savings
to insulate your attic.

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

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Refinance the debt,

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then use the savings
to create marine protected areas.

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

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but you get the basic idea.

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If investors put in
40 million dollars now,

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

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And this is how the work gets done.

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Step one: negotiate the deal.

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

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In exchange, The Nature Conservancy
bring investors, public funders

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and international
development organizations

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

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leading to lower interest rates
and longer repayment periods.

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Step two: create a marine plan.

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Simultaneously, The Nature Conservancy
works with marine scientists,

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government leaders and local stakeholders

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to create a detailed conservation plan

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

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Step three: activate for longevity.

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TNC establishes an independently run
conservation trust fund.

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The savings from the debt
restructure goes into it

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to support new marine protected areas.

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The trust then holds the government
accountable for its commitments,

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ensuring that the Blue Bonds
finance real protection efforts.

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Could this plan work?

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It already has.

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

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

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

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Today, the Seychelles is on track

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to protect 400,000
square kilometers of ocean.

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That's an area
roughly the size of Germany.

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The Seychelles
is protecting its coral reefs,

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it's replenishing its fisheries,

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it's improving its resilience
to climate change.

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

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This success is making
other governments take note.

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Many want to be part of this.

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

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And fast.

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

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But to execute, they need seed capital.

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

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work with all the stakeholders
and structure the deals.

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

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they could protect four million
square kilometers of ocean.

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That's 10 Germanies.

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This would increase
the amount of protected areas

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in all of the world's oceans

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by an incredible 15 percent.

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

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and give safe harbor to countless species.

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This would be truly incredible.

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And it's really just the beginning.

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Because there aren't
20 countries in the world

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where this kind of debt
conversion would work.

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There are almost 100.

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With this approach, everyone wins.

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Governments, local citizens, funders,

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and most importantly, our oceans.

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So in fact, we all win.

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Ah, earth's oceans.

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[The Audacious Project]