Debt collectors channel cash to corals.

The article reports on the U.S. Congress legislative bill concerning the protection of coral reefs, damaged by divers, pollution and climate change in the U.S. The bill, Tropical Forest and Coral Conservation Act of 2007, would cancel foreign debt in developing countries in exchange for coral reef and rainforest conservation. U.S. Congress passed a similar bill in 1998 that has channelled $137 million to protect rainforests in developing countries such as Panama, Bangladesh and Botswana. Under the deal, countries in debt to the U.S. Agency for International Development give money to local conservation groups. In return, the U.S. cancels the same amount of debt.