TED2019
Mark Tercek: An ingenious proposal for scaling up marine protection
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Island and coastal nations need to protect their waters to keep the oceans healthy. But they often have lots of debt and aren't able to prioritize ocean conservation over other needs. Mark Tercek and his team at The Nature Conservancy see a way to solve both problems at once: restructuring a nation's debt in exchange for its government's commitment to protect coastal areas. Learn more about how "Blue Bonds for Conservation" work -- and how you can help unlock billions of dollars for the oceans. This ambitious plan is a part of the Audacious Project, TED's initiative to inspire and fund global change. (Voiced by Ladan Wise)
Mark Tercek - Environmental leader
Mark Tercek leads a team committed to tackling the world's biggest environmental challenges -- protecting land and water, addressing climate change, providing food and water sustainably, and building healthy cities. Full bio
Mark Tercek leads a team committed to tackling the world's biggest environmental challenges -- protecting land and water, addressing climate change, providing food and water sustainably, and building healthy cities. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
Ah, earth's oceans.
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They are beautiful,
inspiring, life-sustaining.
inspiring, life-sustaining.
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They are also, as you're probably
quite aware, more or less screwed.
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.
have left corals bleached.
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Overfishing has caused
fish stocks to plummet.
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,
are strategically protected,
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entire ecosystems can bounce back.
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However, creating marine
protected areas isn't easy.
protected areas isn't easy.
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First, you have the issue
of figuring out where to protect.
of figuring out where to protect.
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This coral reef overlaps with that
international fishing route,
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
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.
of getting everyone on board.
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01:02
Coastal economies
often rely on fishing and tourism.
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
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.
must also be enforced.
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That means the government itself
must be deeply invested in the plan.
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,
may want to protect their waters,
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but often these nations
have very high debt
have very high debt
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and can't afford
to prioritize conservation.
to prioritize conservation.
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If we rely on philanthropic dollars alone
to fund marine protection,
to fund marine protection,
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we might get a small
marine-protected area here,
marine-protected area here,
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another little one there.
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But we need more
marine protected areas faster,
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?
smart ocean conservation look like?
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How do we get the money,
government support and careful planning
government support and careful planning
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that takes into account
both local economies
both local economies
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and complex ecosystems?
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We want to share with you
an audacious idea
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.
all of these things in one fell swoop.
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They've realized that debt held
by island and coastal nations
by island and coastal nations
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is the very thing that will enable them
to achieve their conservation goals.
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,
of a better interest rate,
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maybe you use the savings
to insulate your attic.
to insulate your attic.
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That's what Blue Bonds for Conservation do
for entire coastal countries.
for entire coastal countries.
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Refinance the debt,
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then use the savings
to create marine protected areas.
to create marine protected areas.
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Of course, sovereign debt restructuring
is more complicated than that,
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,
40 million dollars now,
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it can unlock as much as 1.6 billion
for ocean conservation.
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.
at least 30 percent of its ocean areas.
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In exchange, The Nature Conservancy
bring investors, public funders
bring investors, public funders
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and international
development organizations
development organizations
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to the table to restructure
a portion of the nation's debt,
a portion of the nation's debt,
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leading to lower interest rates
and longer repayment periods.
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,
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.
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.
conservation trust fund.
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The savings from the debt
restructure goes into it
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,
accountable for its commitments,
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ensuring that the Blue Bonds
finance real protection efforts.
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.
conservation plan in the Seychelles.
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TNC restructured 22 million dollars
of the government's debt.
of the government's debt.
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And in exchange, the government agreed
to protect 30 percent of its marine areas.
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.
square kilometers of ocean.
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That's an area
roughly the size of Germany.
roughly the size of Germany.
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The Seychelles
is protecting its coral reefs,
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.
to climate change.
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At the same time,
it's strengthening its economy.
it's strengthening its economy.
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This success is making
other governments take note.
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.
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.
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,
who can develop conservation plans,
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work with all the stakeholders
and structure the deals.
and structure the deals.
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If they get the support they need
over the next five years,
over the next five years,
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they could protect four million
square kilometers of ocean.
square kilometers of ocean.
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That's 10 Germanies.
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This would increase
the amount of protected areas
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
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
20 countries in the world
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where this kind of debt
conversion would work.
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]
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Mark Tercek - Environmental leaderMark Tercek leads a team committed to tackling the world's biggest environmental challenges -- protecting land and water, addressing climate change, providing food and water sustainably, and building healthy cities.
Why you should listen
Mark Tercek is CEO of The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the world's largest conservation organization, and author of the best-seller Nature's Fortune: How Business and Society Thrive by Investing in Nature. After a 24-year career at Goldman Sachs, where he served as a managing director and Partner, Tercek became an "investment banker for nature." He brings deep business experience to his role at TNC, where he leads the organization's efforts to bring together diverse groups to find pragmatic, common-ground solutions to protect nature at scale. He is a champion of the idea of natural capital -- valuing nature for its own sake as well as for the services it provides for people, such as clean air and water, productive soils and a stable climate. Growing up as a city kid in Cleveland, Tercek was a late-bloomer to conservation. It was becoming a parent that sparked his passion for nature. "I want to be able to look my kids in the eye and tell them I did all I could to leave the world a better place," he says.
With support from the Audacious Project at TED, Tercek and his colleagues at TNC are launching a bold plan that could protect 4 million square kilometers of ocean over five years.
Mark Tercek | Speaker | TED.com