The grants are directed to more than 100 organisations working on biodiversity conservation, the protection of indigenous peoples and the fight against climate change.
Leonardo DiCaprio's commitment to the environment — or rather, to the planet — hardly makes headlines any more. The Hollywood star has produced important investigative documentaries, such as Before the Flood and Cowspiracy, and his Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation promotes dozens of causes in favour of nature, contributing significant donations. Yesterday, the foundation announced the new grants, which together reach a record total of twenty million dollars (the foundation has donated more than $80 million since it was established in 1998).
The sum will be distributed among more than one hundred organisations working on, among other things, biodiversity conservation, the safeguarding of ecosystems, the protection of indigenous peoples' rights, the promotion of renewable energy and the fight against climate change. The grants are directed both to leading environmental organisations and to small local associations.
The grants have been allocated to six specific areas: climate change ($3,573,562 million), wildlife and landscape conservation ($6,360,000 million), ocean and marine life conservation ($3,756,000 million), innovative solutions ($4,077,568 million), indigenous rights ($796,500) and the California programme for the transition towards sustainable development ($1,436,750 million).
"We are proud to support the work of more than one hundred organisations around the world," DiCaprio declared at the announcement of the grants during a climate change conference at Yale University. "The recipients are active on the ground, protecting oceans, forests and endangered species for future generations, tackling the urgent and existential challenges posed by global warming."