Leonardo DiCaprio Pledges $5M In Aid for Amazon Wildfires
Leonardo DiCaprio has pledged $5 Million through the environmental foundation Earth Alliance to help fight wildfires in the Amazon.
Earth Alliance, which DiCaprio organized last month, along with philanthropists Laurene Powell Jobs and Brian Sheth, has created an emergency Amazon Forest Fund. Earth Alliance is also seeking donations to help repair the rainforest, which is often referred to as the “lungs of the planet.”
The money donated to the organization will be distributed to the group’s regional partners, along with indigenous communities working to protect the Amazon. Among these groups are the Instituto Associacao Floresta Protegida (Kayapo), Coordination of the Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB), Instituto Kabu (Kayapo), Instituto Raoni (Kayapo) and Instituto Socioambiental (ISA).
The Earth Alliance posted a message on their website addressing the severity of the situation, citing how the fires are releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and “destroying an ecosystem that absorbs millions of tons carbon emissions every year and is one of the planet’s best defenses against the climate crisis.” The non-profit also emphasized the importance of the Amazon rainforest to Brazil’s indigenous people. While climate change and drier than normal conditions are being blamed for the record number of wildfires burning Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, environmentalists believe many have been set by loggers and cattle ranchers to clear land.
DiCaprio has been and continues to be an advocate for the environment and climate change and often speaks out on social media.
