El Salvador puts $350 million into river conservation through debt deal

El Salvador has made a big move to save its main river. The country just made a deal with the US to pay back $1 billion of debt in a new way. This means El Salvador will have $350 million to spend on keeping the Lempa River healthy

The Lempa River is super important for El Salvador. It gives the country most of its water and helps make electricity. Jorge Oviedo from a group that cares about nature said this deal will make life better for people and help the country deal with climate change

The Lempa River starts in Guatemala goes through Honduras and ends up in El Salvador. Paul Hicks who works on the river program‚ says its like the heart and lungs of the country. But the river has problems: trees are being cut down‚ farming isnt done right‚ and the water gets dirty

This kind of deal where a country spends money on nature instead of paying back debt isnt new. It started about 40 years ago but now its getting bigger. Last year Ecuador made a similar deal to help protect the Galapagos islands

El Salvador is basically getting a new loan to pay off some of its old loans. The money it saves will go to help the river. Elizabeth Losos who knows a lot about this stuff‚ says these new deals are much bigger than before and can really help countries

The plan is to have a big idea for taking care of the whole river in two years. Next year‚ theyʼll start giving money to projects that will help. This builds on what El Salvador did 7 years ago when it said no one can dig for metals in the country to protect the water

Nayib Bukele El Salvadorʼs president‚ says this is the biggest thing the country has ever done to help nature. Its a big step to keep the Lempa River and all the people who need it healthy for years to come