Leonardo DiCaprio has announced a 43 million dollar (£30.2 million) commitment to “rewild” the Galapagos Islands.
The initiative is in partnership with Re:wild, a conservation charity that DiCaprio is a part of, and will see efforts made to help endangered animals in the Galapagos and protect the island’s wildlife.
It has a number of supporting partners from a range of environmental organisations, including Galapagos National Park Directorate, Ecuador’s ministry of environment and water, and the Charles Darwin Foundation.
The pledge will fund efforts to restore Floreana Island and reintroduce 13 locally extinct species, including the Floreana mockingbird, the first mockingbird described by Charles Darwin.
The actor also praised the work of Paula A Castano, from organisation Island Conservation, who took over DiCaprio’s Instagram and Twitter accounts on Monday to share information on her team’s rewilding efforts.
Re:wild begins with a $43m commitment to rewild the Galapagos, to bring the Pink Iguana, the Floreana Giant Tortoise and the Floreana Mockingbird back from the brink of extinction, and to ensure the people of the Galápagos thrive with the wild.
— Leonardo DiCaprio (@LeoDiCaprio) May 17, 2021
Speaking on Twitter, DiCaprio said: “More than half of Earth’s remaining wild areas could disappear in the next few decades if we don’t decisively act.
“This is why today I am excited to launch Re:wild – to help protect what’s still wild and restore the rest.
“Re:wild begins with a 43 million dollar commitment to rewild the Galapagos, to bring the pink iguana, the Floreana giant tortoise and the Floreana mockingbird back from the brink of extinction, and to ensure the people of the Galapagos thrive with the wild.
“When I travelled to the Galapagos Islands, I met with Paula A Castano from Island Conservation… who works day in and day out to help save one of the most irreplaceable places on the planet.”
DiCaprio addressed the United Nations about the dangers of climate change in 2014, with part of the address appearing in the 2016 climate documentary Before The Flood.