An unusual pairing—or perhaps not. Leonardo DiCaprio and Jeff Bezos have decided to join forces to protect Earth’s wildlife. The Bezos Earth Fund has announced on its social media channels the Phoenix Species Project, a special initiative that brings together the philanthropic organization supported by Jeff Bezos to combat climate change, and Re:wild—co-founded by Leonardo DiCaprio and Dr. Wes Sechrest, along with the actor himself— Age of Union, and the Todd Graves Family Foundation. A commitment of $200 million. This is the amount allocated, making the philanthropic initiative the largest ever undertaken and dedicated exclusively to the recovery of endangered species “belonging to different taxonomic groups, habitats, and countries.”
According to Bezos’s philanthropic organization’s website, the Phoenix Species Project will provide support to help restore 100 species at risk of extinction by assisting and collaborating with indigenous peoples, as well as local communities, scientists, and environmentalists. With a single goal: to save species, yes, but also to advance the work of all stakeholders to ensure the future of biodiversity and the planet.
From Rhina ancylostoma to Conophytum pageae. These are just a few of the most endangered species included in the conservation program, which encompasses 100 species, including mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds, fish, invertebrates, and plants, “from 30 countries and inhabiting a wide range of habitats, from oceans to freshwater lakes, from tropical rainforests to volcanic plains.” To achieve this, there will be more than 100 local and international partners around the world, potentially implementing programs for “conservation breeding, captive breeding programs, translocations, disease management, control of non-native species, and habitat restoration.” All of this will be carried out in collaboration with the IUCN Species Survival Commission.
“For decades, scientists, indigenous peoples, local communities, and conservation leaders have been at the forefront of protecting nature, and research has clearly shown that species on the brink of extinction are often the ones that form the backbone of some of the world’s most important ecosystems. By protecting these species, we also protect the forests, wetlands, grasslands, and oceans on which they depend. The Phoenix Species Project has the potential to radically transform our approach to conservation and the fight against the climate crisis on a global scale. By creating the largest philanthropic initiative in history dedicated to the recovery of critically endangered species across multiple continents—made possible by a transformative grant from the Bezos Earth Fund—we have the opportunity to make a lasting impact where it is most needed. “The goal is for the Phoenix Species Project to become a global movement that inspires others to invest in nature and help protect our planet,” explains actor Leonardo DiCaprio, founder of Re:wild and a key driving force behind this project, which has split the $200 million financial commitment 50-50 with Bezos’s philanthropic organization.
“Children fall in love with animals even before anyone tells them that these animals are disappearing. Ask any seven-year-old what their favorite animal is. It will be a wild animal—something most adults have never even heard of. What will we tell them when the night parrot or the golden-crowned sifaka are no longer here to love? This project is our answer. One hundred species, thirty countries, and a concrete commitment to bring them back to life. Not to manage their decline. To restore them. That’s the difference. “We know how to do it. We just have to commit to it long enough to see the project through,” concludes Lauren Sánchez Bezos, vice president of the Bezos Earth Fund and Jeff’s wife. In short, an ambitious mission with a single shared goal: safeguarding the planet.
[📸 Snapix]
