A record-breaking private investment into biodiversity protection was announced this week by nine philanthropic organisations, including Bezos Earth Fund, Nia Tero, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Wyss Foundation.
The announcement was made yesterday (22 September) at the Transformative Action for Nature and People High Level event – an event that saw industry leaders from the worlds of finance, civil society and Indigenous Communities to discuss and commit to climate change-action.
Under the new $5bn commitment, the participating organisations will seek to support the ‘30 by 30’ biodiversity pledge – aiming to protect 30% of our world’s land and oceans by 2030 – a goal that over 70 countries have now pledged to support.
The new investment is also joined by Rob and Melani Walton Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the Rainforest Trust, coming together in what they have dubbed the ‘Protecting Our Planet Challenge’, and which is being heralded as the largest private funding commitment of its kind into environmental protection efforts.
According to a press release from the Bezos Earth Fund, the group’s funds will focus primarily on “areas that are important for biodiversity and carbon stocks and will give emphasis to the central role of local communities and Indigenous peoples in conservation efforts” – identifying the Congo Basin, the tropical Andes and the tropical Pacific Ocean as regions of particular interest.
The groups will contribute the $5bn funds over a period of ten years.
A Bloomberg Philanthropies press release quoted Head of Climate and Environment Programs Antha Williams as saying the ‘30×30’ target is a ‘scientific and moral necessity’, while Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin of Arcadia said it was a ‘vital measure’.
“Private donors have a role to play, but this goal requires the commitment of all governments and of the communities that manage some of the world’s most biodiverse landscapes,” they say. “We are delighted to support the Protecting Our Planet Coalition Challenge and hope that this initiative will motivate others to join us.”
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