Foundations funded and co-founded by the actor and the Amazon billionaire have committed $200 million to an initiative aimed at reviving 100 of the world’s most threatened species.
The new effort, called the Phoenix Species Project, was announced Tuesday by DiCaprio’s organization Re:wild and the Bezos Earth Fund. The groups say it is the largest single fund in history dedicated exclusively to recovering critically endangered animals
DiCaprio has spoken for years about the need for a massive, coordinated push to protect species being pushed to the brink by habitat loss, poaching, and climate change.
In 2021, he and Re:wild co-founder Wes Sechrest, a biologist and the organization’s CEO, sat down with Bezos and his wife Lauren Sánchez Bezos. Bezos is chair of the Bezos Earth Fund and Sánchez Bezos serves as vice chair.
That meeting sparked a series of conversations with local governments, conservation groups, and Indigenous communities. The goal: figure out how to stop the decline of the most vulnerable species and actually bring their populations back
“Extinction is not inevitable,” DiCaprio said in a statement. “With focused funding, science, and local leadership, we can pull species back from the edge. That’s what Phoenix is about — resurrection.”
The $200 million fund will focus on 100 species that are critically endangered and have a realistic chance of recovery if given immediate support.
Instead of spreading resources thin, the project will concentrate on targeted interventions: habitat protection, anti-poaching, captive breeding, disease treatment, and community-led conservation.
Re:wild and the Bezos Earth Fund said they chose species based on three criteria: level of threat, ecological importance, and feasibility of recovery with proper funding and partnerships.
The work will be done in collaboration with local organizations and Indigenous peoples who live alongside these animals. Project leaders say that without local ownership, conservation efforts fail.
While the full list of 100 species has not been published, organizers shared several examples to show the range of animals the project will target:
- Golden-crowned sifaka — a lemur from Madagascar threatened by deforestation and hunting. Fewer than 250 adults are believed to remain in the wild.
- Hickory Nut Gorge green salamander — a lungless tree-dwelling salamander found only in a single canyon in North Carolina. Its tiny range makes it extremely vulnerable to development and climate shifts.
- endemic to a few islands in the Philippines. Habitat loss and hunting have reduced its numbers to critical levels. only on Cozumel Island off the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. Invasive predators and hurricanes have devastated its population.
- Pink land iguana — found only on Wolf Volcano in the Galápagos Islands. With fewer than 200 individuals left, it is one of the rarest lizards on Earth.
Other species expected to be included range from pangolins in Africa and Asia to rare echidnas in New Guinea, and small mammals and amphibians that rarely make headlines but play key roles in their ecosystemsThe name is intentional. A phoenix rises from ashes. Project leaders want that symbolism to reflect what they hope to achieve: pulling species back from near extinction.
“We’re not funding 100 projects for one year,” he said. “We’re making long-term commitments to 100 species, with science, monitoring, and adaptive management built in.”
The Bezos Earth Fund said the initiative aligns with its broader mission to protect nature and fight climate change. “Nature loss and climate change are two sides of the same coin,” a spokesperson said. “Saving species helps keep ecosystems resilient.
In Madagascar, that means working with communities to create protected corridors for lemurs and provide alternative livelihoods so forests aren’t cleared for charcoal.
In the Philippines, it means supporting farmers who coexist with the Visayan warty pig and helping them benefit from conservation tourism.
Indigenous leaders who were consulted in the planning phase will also help govern parts of the fund. The idea is to move away from top-down conservation and toward partnerships.
“We know these animals better than anyone,” said one community representative involved in early discussions. “If you fund us and trust us, we can bring them back.”
Scientists estimate that about 1 million species are at risk of extinction in the coming decades. Climate change is accelerating that crisis by shifting habitats, increasing wildfires, and spreading disease.
At the same time, conservationists say we have better tools than ever: DNA banking, camera traps, satellite monitoring, and community-based protection programs that have worked in places like Nepal and Rwanda.
The $200 million commitment is meant to prove that with enough money and focus, extinction can be reversed for at least some species.
DiCaprio, who has produced documentaries and spoken at the UN on climate and biodiversity, called it a moral responsibility.
Over the next few months, Re:wild and the Bezos Earth Fund will finalize agreements with local partners for the first group of species. Fieldwork, population surveys, and habitat protection are expected to begin before the end of 2026
Conservation groups have welcomed the announcement, calling it a potential turning point. “We’ve never had this kind of dedicated capital just for species recovery,” said one biodiversity expert not involved in the project. “If it works, it could become a model.
DiCaprio brings visibility and a long track record in environmental advocacy. Bezos brings massive funding capacity through the $10 billion Bezos Earth Fund, launched in 2020.
For both, the Phoenix Species Project is personal. DiCaprio has funded conservation for years through his foundation. Bezos and Sánchez Bezos have prioritized climate and nature since launching the Earth Fund.
Together, they are betting that 100 species — from a tiny salamander in North Carolina to a lemur in Madagascar — can become a symbol of what’s possible when money, science, and local leadership align.
