The Bezos Earth Fund has pledged $1 billion in support of efforts to create, expand, manage, and monitor protected and conserved areas around the world.

Part of Jeff Bezos' $10 billion commitment in support of climate action, the fund will invest in areas that are important for biodiversity and carbon stocks and emphasize the central role of local communities and Indigenous peoples. Grants will be prioritized in regions and countries where there is both significant need and opportunity and a strong political commitment and where local communities and Indigenous peoples are at the heart of conservation programs, with an initial focus on the Congo Basin, the tropical Andes, and the tropical Pacific Ocean.

The funding will play a key role in the implementation of the 30x30 commitment — a  global coalition of more than seventy countries to protect 30 percent of land and sea by 2030 to prevent mass extinctions and bolster resilience to climate change. According to the fund, science indicates that conserving 30 percent of the right land and maritime areas could protect up to 80 percent of plant and animal species, secure 60 percent of carbon stocks, and sustain two-thirds of clean water.

The commitment in support of conservation efforts is the first of the Bezos Earth Fund's three-part strategy; future commitments will focus on landscape restoration and food system transformation. 

"Last year, global loss of primary forest equaled twice the emissions of all cars on the road in the U.S. To turn the tide on the climate crisis, we must stop destroying forests and other fragile ecosystems, and conserve and restore the world's carbon sinks," said John Kerry, the U.S. special presidential envoy for climate. "The Bezos Earth Fund's commitment of $1 billion to conserve and expand critical high carbon stocks comes at a pivotal moment as we seek to avoid the loss of irreplaceable biodiversity and further destabilization of the climate."

"When people hanker for the good old days and glamorize the past, they're almost always wrong. By most metrics, life is better than it was in the past. Global poverty rates are lower, infant mortality and life expectancies are better, and education rates are much higher," said Bezos. "But there is a notable exception — the natural world is not better today than it was five hundred years ago, when we enjoyed unspoiled forests, clean rivers, and the pristine air of the pre-industrial age. We can and must reverse this anomaly. By coming together with the right focus and ingenuity, we can have both the benefits of our modern lives and a thriving natural world. I hope this commitment inspires others to make their own pledges to protect and conserve nature and help in the fight against climate change. A job this big needs many allies.""Bezos Earth Fund Pledges $1 Billion for Nature and People." Bezos Earth Fund press release 09/21/2021.

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