Leonardo DiCaprio launches $200m fund to save endangered species

Oscar-winning actor and environmental advocate Leonardo DiCaprio has unveiled a $200 million global conservation fund aimed at protecting wildlife and plant species threatened by climate change and human activity, marking one of the largest private commitments to biodiversity conservation.

The initiative, named the Phoenix Species Project, is a joint effort between DiCaprio's conservation organization Re:wild and the Bezos Earth Fund, led by Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos. The Bezos Earth Fund will contribute $100 million, with Re:wild matching the amount. Additional support comes from the Age of Union and the Todd Graves Family Foundation.

DiCaprio, who launched his environmental foundation in 1998 before rebranding it as Re:wild in 2021, has helped protect more than 45 million hectares of forests and marine ecosystems across 80-plus countries.

The new project will focus on 100 critically endangered species across 30 countries, selected in consultation with governments, conservation groups and Indigenous communities. Rather than providing short-term aid, the initiative aims to secure long-term recovery through sustained investment.

Among the species targeted are Madagascar's rare lemurs, the Galápagos pink iguana, Southeast Asia's pangolins, the Philippine wild pig, Tanzania's pancake tortoise, Colombia's harlequin frogs and New Guinea's long-beaked echidna.

Conservationists say the initiative could become a landmark global model for reversing biodiversity loss and preventing extinctions.