Paper short abstract:

This paper will discuss the legal implications of the tension between the future imagination of Seychelles blue bonds offered to small-scale fisheries and the real impacts on the ground, based on international environmental law.

Paper long abstract:

In parallel to the recognition of the role oceans and seas play in climate change mitigation and adaptation, there is an increasing emphasis in the literature on the importance of making financial flows consistent with ocean protection. The emerging sector of blue bonds aims to channel private finance to sustainable marine-related activities. Seychelles has issued the World’s first blue bond amounting to USD 15 million in 2018 in collaboration with the World Bank. This blue bond specifically focused on strengthening institutional arrangements for fisheries management, supporting investments in sustainable fisheries, research, and capacity building.

Since the World’s first blue bond was issued by Seychelles, much attention in the literature has been given to the success of Seychelles having attracted such financial flow. However, the blue bond’s legal design and impact on the ground have not been subjected to scrutiny. This paper aims to present the findings of the 2-months fieldwork that the author conducted in Seychelles consisting of 19 interviews. The paper will discuss the tensions between the legal structure and the transaction process behind the blue bond and the real economy impacts on the ground. In other words, the research focuses on the legal implications of future imagination that Seychelles blue bonds offered for small-scale fisheries based on international environmental law. The lessons from this blue bond are important because these innovative financial instruments are presented as solutions to finance climate change mitigation and adaptation in the African continent, and are expected to upscale in the future.