Bezos Earth Fund and Re:wild Launch $200 Million Species Recovery Initiative
The Phoenix Species Project commits $200 million to rescue 100 critically endangered animals worldwide.
Conservation groups Re:wild and the Bezos Earth Fund have launched a $200 million initiative aimed at preventing the extinction of 100 of the planet’s most vulnerable animal species, establishing what they describe as the largest dedicated fund ever created for species recovery.
Named the Phoenix Species Project, the effort targets critically endangered populations facing immediate risks from habitat loss and climate change. Priority targets include Madagascar’s golden-crowned sifaka, the pink land iguana of the Galápagos Islands, and Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna in New Guinea, alongside localized endemics such as North Carolina’s Hickory Nut Gorge green salamander.
The deployment comes as global conservation networks estimate more than 44,000 species are threatened with extinction worldwide on the IUCN Red List, frequently outstripping the operational budgets of frontline conservationists.
The multi-million-dollar commitment follows a 2021 meeting between Re:wild co-founder Leonardo DiCaprio, Chief Executive Officer Wes Sechrest, Bezos Earth Fund Chair Jeff Bezos, and Vice Chair Lauren Sánchez Bezos. The initiative was subsequently structured through consultations with local governments, environmental organizations, and Indigenous communities to secure long-term backing for localized preservation efforts.
Local frontline organizations receiving grants under the initiative say the capital commitment and technical assistance will dramatically alter their operational reach. Tiana Andriamanana, executive director of Association Fanamby, noted the shift for Madagascan species protection.
“We’ve protected the golden-crowned sifaka for years on a budget that would never match what this species deserves, but letting it go extinct was never an option,” Andriamanana said in a statement. “This funding, this global platform and technical support change what is possible.”
The initiative’s species targets span isolated geographies across multiple continents, including Mexico’s Cozumel harvest mouse, the Visayan warty pig in the Philippines, Tanzania’s pancake tortoise, the Malayan pangolin in Southeast Asia, and Colombia’s starry night harlequin toad.
The grant deployment marks a major targeted species commitment from the Bezos Earth Fund, a $10 billion philanthropic initiative launched in 2020 to address biodiversity loss and global climate impacts.
