Oscar-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio, along with philanthropists Laurene Powell Jobs and Brian Sheth, created a new environmental foundation and pledged $5 million to help fight the raging fires currently devastating the Amazon rainforest.
‘Earth Alliance’ launched the Amazon Forest Fund on Sunday, which will focus on “providing critical resources for indigenous communities and local partners working to protect the life-sustaining biodiversity of the Amazon against the surge of wildfires burning across the region,” according to the foundation.
The donations will be distributed directly to five local partners and the indigenous communities helping to protect the Amazon: Instituto Associacao Floresta Protegida, Coordination of the Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon, Instituto Kabu, Instituto Raoni, and Instituto Socioambiental.
Since Brazil’s space research center identified a record-breaking surge in fires in the Amazon this summer, outrage, and concern has grown across the world. The massive rainforest, known as the “lungs of the planet,” is the most biodiverse ecosystem on earth and provides 20% of the world’s oxygen.
The foundation said, “We are deeply concerned about the ongoing crisis in the Amazon, which highlights the delicate balance of climate, biodiversity, and the wellbeing of indigenous peoples.”
‘Earth Alliance’ warns that destruction of the Amazon rainforest will release more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, diminishing an ecosystem that absorbs millions of tons of carbon emissions every year and is one of the planet’s best defenses against the climate crisis.
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