The government of Ecuador denied this Saturday that the recent exchange of debt made to allocate money to the conservation of Galapagos Islands implies a loss of sovereignty over the Ecuadorian archipelago, through the creation of the escrow Galapagos Life Fund (GLF).
In response to a journalistic publication that indicated a possible loss of sovereignty after this financial operation, the Communications Secretariat of the Ecuadorian Presidency ratified in a statement the national sovereignty over the so-called “Enchanted islands”.
“Ecuador has not ceded any type of control of sovereignty over the Galapagos Islands”the Ecuadorian Executive said in the document.
The Government explained that the board of directors of the Galapagos Life Fund has eleven members, of which eight are Ecuadorians and three foreigners, with funds that come from foundations and “It does not imply at all the use of public funds.”
Among the Ecuadorian members there are eight government representatives between ministries and the Galapagos Government Council, in addition to the Association of Artisanal Fisheries, the academy, with the San Francisco de Quito University (USFQ) as its representative; and the Galapagos Chamber of Tourism.
Likewise, he stressed that the constitution of the fund has the objective of shielding it from political influences that want to misuse its economic resources and ensure that they are destined exclusively for conservation and sustainable fishing.
“The sovereignty of the Ecuadorian State is guaranteed both in the conformation of the fund and in its operation, since no foreign power or interest will be above the environmental principles and priorities of Ecuador.”, added the pronouncement.
On May 9, the Ecuadorian government announced “the largest debt-for-conservation swap in history”and assured that the operation also represented an opportunity for the international community to unite in the protection of oceanic biodiversity.
In the debt reconversion operation, with the participation of the Government, financial institutions, development banks and nature protection organizations, Ecuador converted 1,628 million dollars of existing commercial debt into a new loan of 656 million.
This loan has been issued by Credit Suisse, has a guarantee of 85 million dollars from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and political risk insurance of 656 million provided by the United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). .
The Galapagos archipelago is located about 1,000 kilometers to the west of the Ecuadorian continental coasts and was declared in 1978 as a natural heritage of humanity by Unesco.
Source: EFE
Source: Gestion
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