Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos have committed $100 million via the Bezos Earth Fund to help protect some of the world’s most endangered animals and plants, backing a new global initiative designed to prevent species from slipping into extinction. As reported by Fortune, the donation is part of a broader $500 million Species Recovery Alliance , which is a coalition of conservation organisations that was introduced at the COP17 UN biodiversity conference in Yerevan, Armenia. The managing director of the fund, Cristián Samper made the announcement about the donation by Bezos and Sanchez. The report further adds that the Earth Fund is contributing $100 million dollars in all.




Jeff Bezos’ Earth Fund joins new global conservation allianceAccording to a report by Fortune, the Bezos Earth Fund is one of nine founding members of the newly launched Species Recovery Alliance, which aims to accelerate efforts to recover species classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as endangered, critically endangered or extinct in the wild.




The Earth Fund made the commitment of $100 million in support of conservation groups and local partners who are working towards rebuilding wildlife populations via a series of measures such as habitat restoration, captive breeding programmes, disease management and the control of invasive species. Instead of pooling the resources in a single fund, the alliance members will coordinate their efforts while directing grants independently. The initiative comes at a time when more than 49,500 species are listed as threatened with extinction on the IUCN Red List. The alliance also plans to focus on three highest-risk categories, which together account for more than 31,000 species.




‘We know how to bring species back from the brink’Cristián Samper, managing director and leader of nature solutions at the Bezos Earth Fund, said the primary challenge facing conservation groups is often not scientific knowledge but long-term financial support. “We know how to bring species back from the brink. What too many conservation teams lack is reliable funding to keep that work going,” Samper told Fortune. He noted that rebuilding wildlife populations can take years and interruptions in funding can jeopardise years of conservation progress. The alliance's stated goal is to ensure that species recovery projects receive sustained support, giving endangered animals and plants a better chance of long-term survival.




What the money will doDepending on the species, the work could include breeding animals in captivity and releasing them, restoring habitat, managing disease or controlling invasive species. Members plan to track progress using the IUCN Red List and its Green Status of Species. The target list is long. The IUCN says more than 49,500 species are threatened with extinction, and the three highest-risk categories that the alliance will fund together include more than 31,000 species. Samper said the world knows how to bring species back from the brink, and that what many conservation teams lack is reliable funding to keep the work going. He noted that rebuilding a population can take years and that a break in support can put hard-won progress at risk.




Building on the Phoenix Species projectThe alliance builds on the Phoenix Species Project, which the Earth Fund launched in August with Re:wild, the conservation group co-founded by DiCaprio. Each organisation committed $100 million, for a total of $200 million. The project aims to recover 100 critically endangered and extinct-in-the-wild species across 30 countries, including Madagascar’s golden-crowned sifaka and Australia’s elusive night parrot. Sánchez Bezos said at the time that children fall in love with animals before anyone tells them those animals are disappearing, and that the project is the couple’s answer to what to tell them when species like the night parrot or the sifaka are gone.




Filling a government gapThe announcement comes amid growing concerns that governments are falling short of global biodiversity funding commitments. Countries agreed at the 2022 biodiversity summit in Montreal to mobilise $200 billion annually by 2030 for biodiversity protection. However, recent data cited in the report shows global funding levels remain well below that target.




Samper said philanthropic organisations can help accelerate species recovery efforts, but added that large-scale and sustained public funding remains essential for long-term success.




Alongside the private-sector alliance, 17 governments have launched the Coalition of Action to Recover Endangered Species (CARES), aimed at stepping up protection efforts for vulnerable wildlife populations.




Part of Bezos' $10 billion climate and nature pledgeBezos, the Amazon founder, launched the Earth Fund in 2020 with a $10 billion pledge to fight climate change and protect nature by 2030, which Fortune describes as the largest individual philanthropic commitment to climate and nature ever. The fund has granted $2.4 billion so far, a spokesperson said, leaving more than $7 billion to distribute in about four years. Fund officials told Bloomberg in May that they remain committed to the target. Sánchez Bezos, the fund’s vice chair since its early days, has become a more visible face of the couple’s giving.




Recent announcements include $34 million for sustainable fabrics, $26 million for wildfire detection, $100 million to turn vacant urban land into parks in eight US cities, and more than $25 million in Pacific Ocean grants in September.