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Leonardo DiCaprio Launches $5 Million Emergency Fund to Help Combat Amazon Rainforest Fires

Leonardo DiCaprio Launches $5 Million Emergency Fund to Help Combat Amazon Rainforest Fires
The Oscar award-winning actor is not the only one helping to combat the Amazon rainforest fires, either.

Leonardo DiCaprio has always been an outspoken environmental activist and conservationist—and now, he is helping to lead the fight against the wildfires raging through the Amazon rainforest.

While wildfires in the Amazon are not uncommon, there has been an increase of 32,000 blazes recorded in Brazil this year compared to the same time in 2018. This week alone, there have been about 9,000 fires recorded throughout the region.

That's why the Hollywood actor is contributing $5 million to the Amazon Forest Fund: an emergency response fund created by the Earth Alliance earlier this week.

The Earth Alliance was created by DiCaprio and philanthropists Laurene Powell Jobs and Brian Sheth last month. The independent nonprofit has thus far recruited teams of scientists and conservationists to protect vulnerable ecosystems, promote renewable energy growth, and secure the rights of indigenous people worldwide.

"Earth Alliance has formed an emergency Amazon Forest Fund with an initial commitment of $5 million to focus critical resources on the key protections needed to maintain the ‘lungs of the planet,'" reads the organization's website. "These funds will be distributed directly to local partners and the indigenous communities protecting the Amazon, the incredible diversity of wildlife that lives there, and the health of the planet overall.

Collectively, the fund will help finance conservational groups such as the Instituto Associacao Floresta Protegida, Coordination of the Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB), Instituto Kabu, Instituto Raoni, and Instituto Socioambiental.

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#Regram #RG @earthalliance #EarthAlliance, launched in July by @LeonardoDiCaprio, Laurene Powell Jobs, and Brian Sheth, has formed an emergency Amazon Forest Fund with a commitment of $5 million dollars to focus 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. Join Us. 100 percent of your donation will go to partners who are working on the ground to protect the Amazon. 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. To learn more or to donate, please visit ealliance.org/amazonfund (see link in bio) Photos: @chamiltonjames, @danielbeltraphoto 2017

A post shared by Leonardo DiCaprio (@leonardodicaprio) on

#Regram #RG @earthalliance #EarthAlliance, launched in July by @LeonardoDiCaprio, Laurene Powell Jobs, and Brian Sheth, has formed an emergency Amazon Forest Fund with a commitment of $5 million dollars to focus 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. Join Us. 100 percent of your donation will go to partners who are working on the ground to protect the Amazon. 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. To learn more or to donate, please visit ealliance.org/amazonfund (see link in bio) Photos: @chamiltonjames, @danielbeltraphoto 2017

A post shared by Leonardo DiCaprio (@leonardodicaprio) on Aug 25, 2019 at 6:51am PDT

This emergency fund is not the only way that governments and citizens are helping to fight the Amazon wildfires. Tree-planting search engine Ecosia says that they recorded a 1,150% increase in downloads as global media coverage of the wildfires intensified earlier this week.

The group uses ad revenue to finance tree-plants around the world. Since their launch, the nonprofit tech group says that they have helped to plant over 650 million trees around the world. On an average day, they usually welcome 20,000 new users—but on Thursday, over 250,000 new users downloaded the search engine.

Additionally, the Bolivian government recruited the help of the largest airtanker in the world to help firefighters extinguish the blazes from above.

The Colorado-based B747-400 SuperTanker, which was deployed to Bolivia earlier this week, is capable of discharging more 19,000 gallons of water per trip.

This is the #SuperTanker taxiing in from our first mission of the day in Bolivia #BoliviaFires pic.twitter.com/sUbnCBAZHo

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