Leonardo DiCaprio Backs Fund That Pledged $5 Million To Help Amazon Fires
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Leonardo DiCaprio is known for his dedication to environmental causes and with the recent Amazon fires in Brazil, the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actor is taking action. He has backed the Amazon Forest Fund which has committed $5 million to help aid the fires in the Brazilian rainforest.
The Oscar-winning actor reposted a series of images from the Amazon on Instagram from Earth Alliance, an organization started by DiCaprio and philanthropists Laurene Powell Jobs and Brian Sheth. They launched the Amazon Forest Fund that is seeking donations to repair the damage in the Amazon.
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“Laurene Powell Jobs, and Brian Sheth, has formed an emergency Amazon Forest Fund with a commitment of $5 million dollars to focus critical resources for indigenous communities and other local partners working to protect the life-sustaining biodiversity of the Amazon against the surge of fires currently burning across the region,” the post stated. 100 percent of the donations will go to help protect the Amazon. “Earth Alliance is committed to helping protect the natural world. 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.”
According to Earth Alliance, the fires from the Amazon, which they refer to as the “lungs of the planet” are releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and destroying 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. Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) have reported more than 72,000 fires have been reported this year which is a major increase from last year’s 40,000 fires. The fires are largely attributed to an unprecedented surge in deforestation by cattle operations and feed crops.
The Amazon is also land to indigenous people and covers about 110 million hectares of the Brazilian Amazon. The region is critical for biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation as well as the well-being and survival of the Amazon’s indigenous peoples. The fund provides relief to impacted communities and it supports local organizations combating the fires and protecting indigenous lands including 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).
A post shared by Leonardo DiCaprio (@leonardodicaprio) on Aug 25, 2019 at 6:51am PDT
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