Oscar-winning Hollywood actor and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio has praised Armenia for co-leading a new international coalition to save endangered species, recognizing the commitment of 16 founding countries. The initiative was launched in Yerevan on October 16, alongside a separate global funding commitment of more than $500 million for wildlife recovery.
In a statement published by Colombia’s Ministry of Environment, DiCaprio commended the participating countries for committing to measurable action to help endangered species recover.
He stressed that countries have the power to change the future of thousands of threatened species and that his environmental organization, Re:wild, and its partners are prepared to help turn those commitments into conservation results.
The Coalition of Action to Recover Endangered Species (CARES), jointly launched by Armenia and Colombia, brings governments together to prevent extinctions and restore threatened wildlife populations. It was announced ahead of the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP17), scheduled for October 19–30 in Yerevan.
Armenia and Colombia will jointly chair the coalition, which aims to help countries identify species requiring urgent intervention and achieve measurable recovery by 2030.
Alongside CARES, nine private funders and organizations, including Re:wild and the Bezos Earth Fund, launched the Species Recovery Alliance. Together, they have committed more than $500 million over five years to support endangered species recovery worldwide.
The funding will focus on species classified as Extinct in the Wild, Critically Endangered, and Endangered.
The two initiatives will operate separately, with Armenia and Colombia coordinating government action through CARES, while the Species Recovery Alliance supports conservation projects through private funding.
