Bezos Earth Fund to contribute $100 million to species-saving alliance — Fortune
In Yerevan, Armenia, the Bezos Earth Fund became one of nine founding members of the new Species Recovery Alliance, whose participants pledged to direct at least $500 million toward restoring species threatened with extinction. The fund plans to provide $100 million, Fortune reports.
The initiative was presented on October 16 at the COP17 Leaders’ Summit, the UN biodiversity conference. The alliance also includes Re:wild, co-founded by Leonardo DiCaprio, Rainforest Trust, Colossal Foundation, Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, Fondation Segré, Franklinia Foundation, Ayers Wild Cat Conservation Trust, and WildLives Earth.
Separate grants and coordination
Participants will not pool their money into a single fund. Each organization will independently direct grants while coordinating its work with other alliance members. The funds are intended for conservation groups and local partners working with species that the International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies as vulnerable, endangered, critically endangered, or extinct in the wild.
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Potential measures include breeding animals in captivity followed by their release into natural habitats, habitat restoration, disease control, and management of invasive species. The alliance will assess results using the IUCN Red List and the Green Status of Species system. According to the Red List, more than 49,500 species are threatened with extinction, and more than 31,000 of them fall into the three highest risk categories.
Continuation of the Phoenix project
The new alliance builds on the Phoenix Species Project, which the Bezos Earth Fund launched together with Re:wild in August. At that time, both organizations pledged $100 million each. The project is intended to help restore 100 critically endangered species or species extinct in the wild in 30 countries, including Madagascar’s golden-crowned sifaka and Australia’s night parrot.
Jeff Bezos founded the Bezos Earth Fund in 2020, pledging to provide $10 billion by 2030 to combat climate change and protect nature. According to the fund, it has already awarded $2.4 billion in grants.
