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☆ Top development banks, funds set up 'debt-for-nature' task force
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Fishermen go out to sea after Ecuador's goverment expanded the protected marine area around the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador January 24, 2022. REUTERS/Santiago Arcos Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - A consortium of top multilateral development banks (MDB) and climate funds launched a global "task force" on Monday to scale up the number and size of 'debt-for-nature' swaps that countries can do. It will initially be led by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), lenders which between them have been involved in all the recent swaps, also including Barbados and Gabon. The Asian Development Bank, the African Development Bank, France's Agence Française de Développement, and the European Investment Bank will also be part of the task force, as well as the Green Climate Fund and the Global Environment Facility. Development banks play a particularly important role in debt-for-nature swaps because they provide the credit guarantees and/or political risk insurance that make them viable.

Persons: goverment, Santiago Arcos, Ilan Goldfajn, Scott Nathan, Marc Jones, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: REUTERS, Santiago, Reuters, Inter, American Development Bank, U.S . International Development Finance Corporation, Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank, France's Agence Française, European Investment Bank, Climate Fund, Global, Thomson Locations: Ecuador, Belize, Barbados, Gabon

WHY WE’RE HEREWe’re exploring how America defines itself one place at a time. On a California island, residents and preservationists are feuding over how to protect the habitat for future generations. Plump quails and miniature foxes unique to the island scurry across the dirt roads that wind through scrubby hillsides. Thick pillows of fog roll onshore and coat the leaves of rare plants with dew. But the habitat is suffering because much of the native flora has been ravaged by animals shipped here over the past century for ranching, hunting and filming movies.

Persons: critters Organizations: Channel Locations: California, Catalina, Southern California

☆ Exclusive: World's top MDBs to launch debt-for-nature swap 'task force' - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The task force creation is the most significant step so far in showing that the global club of multilateral lenders, which between them have trillions of dollars worth of firepower, will significantly ramp up their support for these deals. Four sources involved in the plans, which are expected to be announced at the COP summit's 'finance day' on Monday, say the group will formally be called the "Task Force on Sustainability-linked Sovereign Financing for Nature and Climate". It will initially be chaired by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and U.S. government's Development Finance Institution (DFC), said three of the sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Both lenders have been involved in all the recent swaps which have also included Barbados and Gabon. At their simplest, the swaps work by buying up a country's bonds, often at a discount, and then replacing them with cheaper eco-labelled ones that come with the special MDB guarantees.

Persons: Chico Mendes, Amanda Perobelli, MDBs, Marc Jones, Christina Fincher Organizations: Chico, Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation, Institute for, Environment, Resources, REUTERS, Reuters, Force, Sustainability, Nature, Inter, American Development Bank, government's Development Finance, World Bank, European Investment Bank, Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, ADB, Infrastructure Development Bank, Reuters Graphics, Conservancy, Thomson Locations: Pocone, Mato Grosso, Brazil, Belize, Barbados, Gabon, Beijing, U.S, Sri Lanka, Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania, Colombia, Ecuador

☆ Scientists discovered a field of deep-sea hot springs after following a trail of crabs like breadcrumbs on the ocean floor
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Scientists on an expedition near the Galápagos Islands followed a trail of crabs on the ocean floor. The crabs led them to a field of hydrothermal vents, or deep-sea hot springs. AdvertisementClusters of white crabs on the ocean floor helped lead scientists to a new discovery off the Galápagos Islands: a field of hydrothermal vents, or deep-sea hot springs, full of life. Schmidt Ocean InstituteA vent chimney discovered within a previously unknown hydrothermal vent field near the Galápagos Islands. A large cluster of riftia tube worms proved the researchers were unquestionably in a new hydrothermal vent field.

Persons: —, Dr, Roxanne Beinart, Hansel, Gretel, Ricardo Visaira Coronel, Dennisse Maldonado, INOCAR, Stuart Banks, Charles Darwin Organizations: Service, Schmidt Ocean Institute, Schmidt Ocean, University of Rhode Island, Ecuadorian, Charles, Charles Darwin Foundation Locations: Galapagos, Yellowstone

☆ What’s the Point of Traveling With Kids If They’ll Just Forget Everything?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Jordi Lippe-Mcgraw | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

MY SON Wilder’s passport rivals that of even the most seasoned travelers, with stamps from 23 countries on five continents—and he’s only five. Rather than leaving him at home, I often take him with me on the adventures my work as a travel writer requires. We’ve gone on safari in Zambia and swum with sea lions in the Galápagos. I have little recollection of some of the places I see in family photos, even if fragmented images of beach days and snippets of a song from a hotel kids’ club in Hawaii do occasionally surface. What is the value of travel for a young mind, when so much disappears with time?

Persons: We’ve Locations: Zambia, Hawaii

New York CNN —Sheila Bair, who had a front row seat to the subprime mortgage meltdown, is worried today’s housing market is unsustainably hot. A housing bubble can form when prices rise to unsustainable levels. “I see much less speculation in the housing market today, thank goodness,” said Bair. ‘Dizzying heights’Legendary investor Jeremy Grantham shares Bair’s concern about a housing bubble. In many ways, today’s housing market is the polar opposite of the one that preceded the Great Recession.

Persons: Sheila Bair, ” Bair, Bair, ”, she’s, there’s, Jeremy Grantham, ” Grantham, Goldman Sachs, Fannie Mae, Priscilla Almodovar, it’s, ” Almodovar, Lawrence Yun, homebuyers shouldn’t, ” Yun, Yun, America doesn’t Organizations: New, New York CNN, National Association of Realtors, CNN, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, NAR, “, UBS Locations: New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, Richmond, Cincinnati, Zurich, Tokyo, Miami, Toronto, Vancouver, London, America, “

☆ Mexico declares country free of H5N1 bird flu
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Test tubes labelled "Bird Flu" and eggs are seen in this picture illustration, January 14, 2023. The decision will facilitate the sale of live poultry, as well as poultry products and by-products originating from Mexico, the gazette said. To guarantee Mexico remains free of the disease, the country will maintain in place epidemiological surveillance, traceability, control of movement and other strict safety procedures, according to the document. The Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, commonly called bird flu, has killed poultry flocks in the United States and Europe since last year. Report by Raul Cortes Fernandez Editing by Drazen Jorgic and Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Raul Cortes Fernandez, Drazen Jorgic, Bill Berkrot Organizations: REUTERS, MEXICO CITY, Gazette, Ministry of Agriculture, Organization for Animal Health, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, Mexico, Nuevo Leon, United States, Europe, South America, Brazil, Ecuador

☆ The global treasures in the running for UNESCO’s World Heritage status
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Tamara Hardingham-Gill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

This year, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee is reviewing nominations from both 2022 and 2023, with participants from across the world attending the session in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to examine almost 50 contenders. According to UNESCO, sites must be of “outstanding universal value” to be included on the World Heritage List. So far, the World Heritage Committee has inscribed approximately 1,157 sites in 167 different countries onto the World Heritage List. Seo Heun Kang/UNESCO World Heritage Nomination OfficeOnly those countries that sign the convention creating the World Heritage Committee and list are permitted to nominate sites. Gordion, the capital city of ancient Phrygia in Ankara, Turkey, is also nominated for a place on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Persons: John E, Seo Heun Kang, Bale, Gordion, Mustafa Ciftci, Midas, Morten Rasmussen, Sarah Langrand, Dominique Marck, Bani Ma’arid, Bani Ma'arid, Hamad Al Qahtani, Koh Ker, Mount Pelée, Canada Bale, Francesca Street Organizations: CNN, UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Cultural Organization, UNESCO World Heritage, Heritage, World, Anadolu Agency, Danish Agency for Culture, Fine Arts Department, de Nîmes, National Center for Wildlife, Architectural Museum, Kazan Federal University, Khinalig, Tunisia ESMA Museum, Clandestine Center of Detention, Wooden Posts, Greece Historic Center of Guimarães Locations: Gaya, Denmark, Thai, Ohio, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Hancock, United States, Goryeong, South Korea, Addis Ababa, Phrygia, Turkey, Ankara, B.C.E, Madagascar, Si Thep, Thailand, Si, Nîmes, France, Gorokhovets, Russia, Vladimir Oblast, Erfurt, Germany, Cambodia, Khmer, Courland, Latvia, Kaunas, Lithuania, Ab’aj, Guatemala, India, Karakum, Tajikistan, Menorca, Spain, Ethiopia, Iran, Klondike, Canada, Czech, Odzala, Kokoua, Congo, Mount, Northern Martinique, Benin Ha Long, Ba Archipelago, Vietnam, Forests, Azerbaijan, Jericho, Palestinian Territories, Kazan, Tunisia, Argentina, Belgium, Suriname Royal, Netherlands, Anatolia, Bisesero, Rwanda, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Masouleh, Turan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Northern Apennines, Italy, Tajikistan Highlands, Mongolian, Mongolia, Greece, Portugal

☆ A Writer Scrutinizes Privilege, Starting With His Own
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Jonathan Dee | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

QUIET STREET: On American Privilege, by Nick McDonellIn the preface to his 11th book, the novelist and journalist Nick McDonell makes a very contemporary gesture of transparency by telling us how much he was paid to write it. Made deeply uneasy by the entitlement of America’s ruling class — an entitlement he himself took for granted as a child — he doesn’t have any extraordinary insight into why things are the way they are, or how they might be made otherwise. He relates these stories with a wince, though little in them seems all that groundbreakingly depraved. He and his Buckley schoolmates referred to the cafeteria workers by an unkind nickname. He once went to a wedding reception where there were four bars.

Persons: Nick McDonell, McDonell, —, Thomas Piketty, Anand Giridharadas, Buckley Organizations: Buckley, Harvard, Devon Yacht Club Locations: East Coast, Manhattan

☆ Gabon Joins Blue Bond Wave With $500 Million Debt Refinancing
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Will Horner | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Gabon completed mainland Africa’s first-ever “debt-for-nature swap” Tuesday, refinancing $500 million of its debt and earmarking $163 million in savings for marine conservation, the latest in a burgeoning list of “blue bond” deals. In their place, Gabon issued a $500 million blue bond which matures in 2038. The coupon on the new blue bond was priced at 6.097%, lower than the coupons on the repaid bonds which were between 6.625%-7%. TNC says its blue bond deals have provided $400 million toward conservation efforts. Bank of America, which served as sole initial purchaser, structuring agent and bookrunner on the Gabon deal, declined to reveal its transaction fees.

Persons: Gabon’s, Bond, ”, Ali Bongo Ondimba, TNC wasn’t, Scott Nathan, TNC, Will Horner Organizations: —, Sustainable Business, Moody’s Investors Service, U.S . International Development Finance Corporation, Conservancy, Greenpeace, Bank of America Locations: Gabon, Africa, U.S, Belize, Seychelles, Barbados, Ecuador, Galápagos, william.horner

☆ Global conservation mission sets sail from UK in Darwin's wake
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Ben Makori | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] A general view of the ship 'Oosterschelde', launched by the planetary conservation mission DARWIN200, which is to set sail on August 15, in Plymouth, Britain August 11, 2023. The group will set sail on board a 105-year-old schooner on Tuesday from the southern English port of Plymouth, from where British naturalist Darwin's own expedition began in 1831, leading him to develop the theory of evolution by natural selection. The 40,000 nautical mile "Darwin200" expedition hopes to anchor in 32 ports, including all the major ports visited by Darwin's HMS Beagle. Throughout the journey, 200 selected young environmentalists will temporarily join the ship to be trained on conservation efforts. Patrons of the project include Darwin's great-great-granddaughter - the botanist Sarah Darwin - and British primatologist Jane Goodall.

Persons: Charles Darwin's, Darwin's, Stewart McPherson, McPherson, Sarah Darwin, Jane Goodall, Goodall, Sachin Ravikumar, William James, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Plymouth, Britain, Handout

☆ Fernando Villavicencio assasination: How corruption and gang warfare transformed Ecuador
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Tara John | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

But the high-profile assassination on Wednesday of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio could be a turning point for the country that has so far struggled to control the bloodshed. Ecuadorean presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio ran on an anti-corruption platform prior to his death. Floundering authoritiesSecurity and state forces have been badly unprepared for the rise of criminal groups in the country. A a car transports the body of Ecuadorean presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio on August 10. Last year, the US withdrew visas from high-ranking officers of Ecuadorian state security forces, alleged to be linked to drug trafficking, as well as several judges and lawyers.

Persons: CNN —, Fernando Villavicencio, ” Juan Pappier, Watch’s, “, Karen Toro, Laura Lizarazo, ”, ” Lizarazo, Ecuador’s, Guillermo Lasso, Lizarazo, Eric Farnsworth, –, Villavicencio –, El, Nayib Bukele, Luisa González, Rafael Correa, Vicente Gaibor del Pino Organizations: CNN, Customs, Border Patrol, Ecuadorian, Reuters, Lobos, of, Americas Society, Security Locations: Ecuador, ”, Peru, Colombia, Europe, Washington, Americas

☆ Travel Insurance: What It Covers and When to Buy It
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Elaine Glusac | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the wake of Covid, travel insurance sales have spiked with the rebound in travel as people seek to protect their investments against flight delays and cancellations, extreme weather events and the persistence of the virus. But travel insurance is complicated with a range of benefits, inclusions and prices. Know what’s coveredGenerally speaking, travel insurance covers unforeseen events, like an illness in the family, the loss of a job or a natural disaster, that force you to cancel or interrupt a trip. Most polices also include medical coverage, which is useful abroad where your health insurance may not cover you. Insure nonrefundable expensesTravel insurance was designed to protect expenses you can’t get back any other way when things go wrong.

☆ Under a Hellish Ocean Habitat, Bizarre Animals Are Lurking
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Robin George Andrews | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But not all experts were so surprised by the discovery. “I think it makes perfect sense,” said Julie Huber, a marine geochemist and microbiologist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts who wasn’t involved with the work. “The shallow subseafloor, where temperatures are likely cool enough for animals to survive, is what I think of as a ‘subseafloor conveyor belt’ for microbes, nutrients and, now, animals.”Much about these unusual habitats is a mystery. Deep below, the magmatic heat roasts percolating seawater, which jets back out into the water column as superheated, mineral-rich soups. Despite their extreme natures, these vents are metropolises of strange critters.

Persons: ”, Julie Huber, wasn’t Organizations: Oceanographic Locations: Massachusetts

LONDON/JOHANNESBURG, July 25 (Reuters) - Gabon launched what is set to be Africa's first debt-for-nature swap on Tuesday, with a plan to buy up at least $450 million of its government debt and switch it to an eco-friendly blue bond. The February 2031 maturity rose 2.203 cents to 83.702 cents and November 2031 maturity jumped 2.129 cents to 83.573 cents, compared to Gabonese government's offer to buy back the bonds for 85 cents per $1 of the bond. ,The 2025 maturity rose 1.194 cents to 95.4 cents, also still below the offer price of 96.75 cents.. Ecuador pulled off a record $1.1 billion debt-for-nature swap in May, freeing up $18 million annually for the next 20 years for conservation of the Galapagos Islands. The African Development Bank and European Investment Bank are interested in providing credit guarantees.

Persons: Marc Jones, Rachel Savage, Gerauds Wilfried Obangome, Karin Strohecker, Ed Osmond, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: London Stock Exchange, Republic, Industry, U.S . International Development Finance Corporation, African Development Bank, European Investment Bank, Bank of America, Thomson Locations: JOHANNESBURG, Gabon, Gabonese, Ecuador, Belize, Galapagos, Sri Lanka, Indian, Libreville

☆ She broke up with her boyfriend and moved in with a man she’d known for 3 weeks. Here’s what happened
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Francesca Street | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

“As I come into the yard, I get greeted by two beautiful, amazing, fluffy dogs wagging their tails,” recalls Liesbet. “We talked a little bit – and a little bit turned into an hour,” recalls Liesbet. Liesbet Collaert“We went out for drinks,” recalls Liesbet, “Mark was a sailor and took us all out sailing. “I go up to the apartment door and the door was unlocked, which was a little bit odd,” recalls Mark. Liesbet CollaertAbout a month after she’d moved in with Mark, Liesbet flew with him to the East Coast to meet his family.

Persons: Liesbet Collaert, She’d, Karl, Liesbet, Karl’s, Nik, ”, Mark, “ Mark Kilty, “, He’d, –, hadn’t, she’d, he’d, ” Mark, “ Mark, “ Karl, Collaert Karl, – it’d, they’d, Here's, didn’t, you’d, ’, “ I’ll, couldn’t, Here's Liesbet, Liesbet’s, Liesbet Collaert Liesbet, “ You’re, Karl –, ’ ”, they’ve, Mark Kilty, we’ve, She’s, San Francisco – Organizations: CNN, “, CNN Travel, San, ” Locations: San Francisco , California, North America, Australia, Belgium, San Francisco, East Coast, California, Bay, Grenada, Mexico, Martinique, ., Mark’s, East, South America, Costa Rica, Central America, Panama, Texas, Honduras, Austin, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Polynesia, Liesbet, St, Maarten, Tahiti, Cotopaxi, Ecuador

☆ At sweltering Phoenix Zoo, showers for owls and icy treats for monkeys
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Liliana Salgado | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Liliana SalgadoPHOENIX, July 21 (Reuters) - On Day 22 of temperatures in Phoenix exceeding 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 Celsius), a Eurasian eagle owl enjoyed a prolonged shower on Friday while monkeys and horses ate icy treats, some laced with Gatorade. The Phoenix Zoo has come up with myriad ways to cool off animals in the historic record-breaking heat wave, including hose-downs, mister lines, cooling pads, ponds, mud water, fans and air-conditioned buildings. So this is one of the ways that we help them cool down in this heat," said zookeeper Leslie Lindholm. And over in Monkey Village, tiny squirrel monkeys pulled frozen treats out of buckets. Reporting by Liliana Salgado in Phoenix; Editing by Mary Milliken and Rosalba O'BrienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Archie, Liliana Salgado PHOENIX, Lizzie Newman, zookeeper Leslie Lindholm, Jake, zookeeper Jyl Purdy, Amy Dietz, Liliana Salgado, Mary Milliken, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Phoenix Zoo, REUTERS, Gatorade, The Phoenix, Thomson Locations: Arizona, U.S, Phoenix, Europe, Asia, Belgian, Monkey

☆ 3 travel agents for the world's wealthiest people share exactly where the 1% are traveling this summer, from Botswana to the Côte d'Azur
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Mark Ellwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Summer travel can be done on a budget, but for the world's wealthiest people, no expense is spared. Top travel agents shared the hottest spots they're seeing this year, from Paros to the Côte d'Azur. Instead, look to the elite group of agents who help wrangle those jaunts and cater to the wealthiest, most demanding vacationers. Courtesy of John CliffordJohn Clifford in San Diego runs International Travel Management and has expertise with LGBTQ+ travel. Insider asked these travel professionals to share the secrets of where and how the richest 1% are vacationing in summer 2023.

Persons: they've, Jules Maury, Jules Maury Jules Maury, Scott Dunn, John Clifford, John Clifford John Clifford, Edward Granville ., Edward Granville Edward Granville, Granville, Maury, I've, Clifford, he's, Côte, they're, We've, Rod, it's, Paros, It's, Cosme, Parilio, Avant, she's, she'd, Milos Organizations: Côte, Service, San Diego, Travel Management, d'Azur, Porto Heli, Italy, Avant Mar, HBO, Domenico Palace Locations: Paros, Wall, Silicon, San, Red Savannah, London, COVID, Europe, Cannes, France, Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Botswana's Okavango Delta, Kenya, Porto, Greece, Italy, Spain, Athens, Amalfi Coast, Rome, Sicily, Domenico

☆ ‘For the Love of the Water’: Tours for the Swimming-Obsessed
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( Elaine Glusac | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

During the pandemic, when Miriam Leitko couldn’t swim because pools were closed, the lifelong swimmer built a lap pool at her home in Willis, Texas. As soon as travel restrictions were lifted in 2021, she signed up for a weeklong trip to Hawaii with SwimVacation, a Maine-based tour operator that specializes in open-water swimming. “Open-water swimming becomes energizing,” said Ms. Leitko, 64, who has taken 12 trips with the company. The tours, she said, allow her to leave her stress “literally in the ocean.”Summer vacations are often built around the pleasures of cannonballing into a lake or splashing in the ocean. In contrast, these tours build trips around organized swims that might involve diving among sea lions in the Galápagos, swimming island to island in the Adriatic or gliding over coral reefs in the Caribbean.

Persons: Miriam Leitko couldn’t, ”, Leitko, Hopper McDonough Locations: Willis , Texas, Hawaii, SwimVacation, Maine, Caribbean, Turkey

☆ Several shark species are facing extinction. Here’s how you can help
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Cnn Impact Your World | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

But many species of these aquatic apex predators are now in danger of dying out forever. Of the thousand known species of sharks and rays (sharks’ closest living relatives), over a third of them are at risk of extinction. And since sharks are “indicators of ocean health,” as sharks go, so does the delicate balance of marine ecosystems. A 2021 report showed over the last 50 years, global shark and ray populations have fallen more than 70%. Listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, oceanic whitetip shark numbers in the Pacific Ocean have fallen an estimated 80 to 95% within the last 30 years, according to NOAA.

Persons: They’ve, ”, Reinhard Dirscherl, Nick Dulvy, “, Ocean Foundation It’s Organizations: CNN, “ Sharks, Rays, NOAA, Ocean Foundation Locations: Texas

☆ First debt swap Galapagos projects could be approved next year, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

QUITO, June 30 (Reuters) - Conservation projects in the Galapagos Islands funded by so-called blue bonds will be approved from next year by an independent body, Ecuador's Environment Minister Jose Davalos said. The independent non-profit Galapagos Life Fund (GLF) will manage the funds, Davalos told Reuters on Thursday. "Next year the GLF could begin to receive projects, rate them and assign the first funds to finance them," Davalos said. "This is a private fund that will administer money that is given or donated for the conservation of the Galapagos." The fund could finance projects in fishing, tourism, environmental education and the management of the Galapagos ocean reserve, which was expanded last year.

Persons: Jose Davalos, Davalos, Charles Darwin's, Guillermo Lasso, Alexandra Valencia, Julia Symmes Cobb, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: Life, Reuters, Resources, Thomson Locations: QUITO

☆ UNESCO member countries ready to welcome US back to organisation
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( John Irish | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The member states will make their decision at an extraordinary session on Thursday and Friday. "This comes after a lot of work to persuade, educate and explain on the current realities of UNESCO," Azoulay, who is French, told reporters, adding that she had personally lobbied U.S. lawmakers for several months. At this stage there are no negotiations for its return, Azoulay said. Its return to UNESCO was enabled after a waiver from the U.S. Congress earlier this year. Azoulay said China had responded at UNESCO to the potential U.S. return by saying it should be constructive and not oppose one state.

Persons: Donald Trump, Audrey Azoulay, Washington's, Azoulay, John Irish, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Trump, PARIS, United Nations, U.S . State Department, UNESCO, Reuters, United Nations Educational, Cultural Organization, U.S, Congress, Thomson Locations: States, US, United States, Israel, Paris, U.S, Timbuktu, Jerusalem, Washington, Palestine, China

What lies at the bottom of the oceanWhile what’s considered the deep ocean extends from 3,280 feet to 19,685 feet (1,000 meters to 6,000 meters) beneath the surface, deep-sea trenches can plunge to 36,000 feet (11,000 meters), according to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. Alessandro Mancini/Alamy Stock PhotoWhy mapping the ocean is so challengingFrom a strictly scientific perspective, touristic trips to the ocean floor do little to advance our understanding of the ocean’s mysteries. “We want to go to the highest, the lowest, the longest.”But only a “very small percentage of the deep ocean, and even the middle ocean, has been seen by human eyes — an infinitesimal amount. “However, 150 years of modern oceanography have led to better understanding of many aspects of the ocean such as the life it contains, its chemistry and its role in the Earth system.”Mapping the ocean “helps us to understand how the shape of the seafloor affects ocean currents, and where marine life occurs,” Rogers added. Researchers say the ocean and the life it contains could provide answers to some of medicine’s biggest challenges, such as antibiotic drug resistance.

Persons: ”, Gene Feldman, Jamie Pringle, Pringle, Cornelis Drebbel, Auguste Piccard, Feldman, ” Feldman, Jacques Piccard, Don Walsh, what’s, “, Robert Ballard, Alvin, Ballard, Alessandro Mancini, Alamy, Alex Rogers, ” Rogers Organizations: CNN, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Oceanographic, NASA, OceanGate Expeditions, England’s Keele University, bathyscaphe, Keystone, Hulton, NOAA, Bluegreen, Sea Ventures, of Ocean Exploration, Research, University of Oxford Locations: Cape Cod , Massachusetts, Washington, Dutch, Trieste, bathyscaphe Trieste, Italy, Massachusetts, Japan, United Kingdom

☆ The ‘breakout travel trend’ of the decade: What to know about expedition cruising
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Helen Iatrou | Chris Dwyer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Instagram posts — which often showcase trips to Antarctica — may have given expedition cruising more publicity, but this form of cruising isn't new. Today, there is stiff competition among expedition cruise lines to launch more technologically advanced vessels and to secure onboard talent. Source: Aurora ExpeditionsNoah Brodsky, chief commercial officer of Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic, described expedition cruising as the "breakout travel trend of the decade." Expedition cruising is also a good option for the growing number of solo travelers. "Unfortunately, this has meant the new expedition cruise ships have become larger and the expedition experience itself has been sacrificed," he told CNBC.

Persons: LIND, Costa, Greg Mortimer, Carlo Raciti, Bronwyn Stephenson, Aurora expeditioner, Lindblad, Mensun, Robert Bindschadler, Hayley Peacock, Gower, Aurora's Hayley Peacock, Noah Brodsky, James Cole, Hillary, Cousteau, Shackleton, Cole, Xers, hadn't, Carl Raciti, Andrew Marsh, Commandant Charcot, Stefanie Schmudde Organizations: Aurora Expeditions, Panama's UNESCO, Expeditions, Lindblad Expeditions, NASA, Aurora, Geographic, CNBC, Expedition, Cruisers, Environmental, Abercrombie, Kent Locations: Australia, Panama, Costa Rica, Aurora, Antarctica, Its, Greenland, Alaska, Galapagos, French Polynesia, Western, Kimberley, Central, South America

☆ Natural evolution: Record Galapagos deal sparks clamour for eco-friendly debt swaps
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The growing appetite comes as record numbers of developing world governments face debt pressures due to higher global interest rates. There have been around 140 over the past 35 years, but even including last month's super-sized Galapagos deal they have only involved around $5 billion of debt altogether. The top-level attendees will be urged to do more, not only debt swaps, but also by providing foreign exchange guarantees and automatic debt-payment breaks for countries hit by climate-related disasters. "Seeing something that has a group of countries involved would be amazing," Issa said. Ecuador says it is eyeing another transaction to capitalise on the halo effect from the Galapagos deal.

Persons: Ramzi Issa, Charles Darwin's, Issa, Ilan Goldfajn, Scott Nathan, Nathan, Emmanuel Macron, Mia Mottley, Suisse's Issa, Simon Jessop, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Ecuador, Credit Suisse, Inter, American Development Bank, U.S . International Development Finance Corporation, Reuters Graphics, Thomson Locations: Ecuador, Belize, Barbados, Gabon, Paris, Sri Lanka, Indian, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Seychelles

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