Missouri Botanical Garden in the US has agreed to 鈥榖uy鈥� up to $750
000 of Madagascar鈥檚 international debt from a French bank over the next
three years. The botanists will pay up to half of the value of the debt in
dollars, and in return they will get the full value of the debt paid back to
them in soft local currency, doubling the money available for botanical
research in Madagascar.
The deal means that the French bank gets at least some of the hard currency
owed to it, Madagascar benefits from debt relief, and the Missouri botanists
are able to increase their investment in conserving Madagascar鈥檚 unique
plants.
The Missouri garden鈥檚 efforts in Madagascar include training Malagasy
botanists and collecting plants to screen them for medicinal value.
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