The Bezos Earth Fund and environmental organisation Re:wild, co-founded by Leonardo DiCaprio and Dr Wes Sechrest, have launched the Phoenix Species Project, a $200 million philanthropic initiative dedicated exclusively to the recovery of critically endangered species.
Supported by funding from Leonardo DiCaprio, Age of Union, and the Todd Graves Family Foundation, the $200 million commitment is split equally between a $100 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund and $100 million from Re:wild and its partners. The capital will provide multi-year, long-term financing designed to move away from small, short-term grants and deliver sustained recovery efforts.
The project targets 100 species facing imminent extinction across 30 countries. The selected species span mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds, fish, invertebrates, and plants, covering diverse biomes ranging from oceans and freshwater lakes to tropical rainforests and volcanic plains.
Over 100 local and international partners—including Indigenous Peoples, local community groups, conservationists, and national governments—will lead on-the-ground execution. Interventions will be tailored to specific local needs, incorporating conservation breeding, head-starting programmes, species translocations, disease management, invasive non-native species control, and habitat restoration. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission is serving as the global knowledge partner to oversee scientific rigor.
Tiana Andriamanana, Executive Director of grant recipient Association Fanamby, noted that the long-term backing transforms what is possible for species such as Madagascar’s golden-crowned sifaka, while simultaneously protecting local drinking water catchments and creating sustainable ecotourism opportunities.
Re:wild co-founder Leonardo DiCaprio highlighted that endangered anchor species are essential to stabilizing broader ecosystems like forests, wetlands, and oceans. Lauren Sánchez Bezos, Vice Chair of the Bezos Earth Fund, reaffirmed that the program’s primary objective is driving active population recovery rather than merely managing ongoing ecological decline.
Progress across the portfolio, including population metrics and threat reduction data, will be tracked and published publicly through the project’s digital platforms.
