Leonardo DiCaprio plans to donate $5 million to the emergency Amazon Forest Fund. The fund was started by Earth Alliance, the organization that DiCaprio co-founded with Laurene Powell Jobs and Brian Shethe.
The money is used to kickstart what DiCaprio says will be focusing "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."
Earth Alliancejoinslocal groups that have been working against the wildfires that have ravaged the forest recently. Such organizations include the Coordination of the Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon, Instituto Associacao Floresta Protegida, Instituto Kabu, Instituto Raoni, and Instituto Socioambiental.
With his pledge, DiCaprio also made a call to action, asking supporters to donate their own share as well.
"100 percent of your donation will go to partners who are working on the ground to protect the Amazon," he penned in an Instagram caption."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."
The fires in the Amazon are believed to be attributed to the popularized slash-and-burn method of deforestation taking place throughout Brazil. As a result, the Amazon is expected to start emitting larger amounts of carbon dioxide, potentially speeding up the global warming process.