{"id":13467,"date":"2026-08-04T00:50:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T04:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdgnews.com\/?p=13467"},"modified":"2026-08-04T12:53:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T16:53:56","slug":"the-race-to-save-100-of-the-worlds-most-threatened-species","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sdgnews.com\/ru\/the-race-to-save-100-of-the-worlds-most-threatened-species\/","title":{"rendered":"The Race to Save 100 of the World\u2019s Most Threatened Species"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Phoenix Species Project will provide sustained funding and technical support to locally led recovery programs in 30 countries, testing whether major philanthropy can help address a persistent gap in global conservation.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bezos Earth Fund and conservation organization Re:wild have launched a $200 million initiative to support the recovery of 100 of the world\u2019s most threatened species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Phoenix Species Project begins with commitments of $100 million each from Re:wild and the Bezos Earth Fund. Re:wild said the initiative also has support from Leonardo DiCaprio, Age of Union and the Todd Graves Family Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The selected species span mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, fish, invertebrates and plants across 30 countries, with habitats ranging from tropical forests and freshwater lakes to oceans and volcanic plains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They include Madagascar\u2019s golden-crowned sifaka, the Malayan pangolin, the Visayan warty pig of the Philippines, Colombia\u2019s starry night harlequin toad, the pink land iguana of the Gal\u00e1pagos Islands and Attenborough\u2019s long-beaked echidna in New Guinea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The participating organizations describe Phoenix Species Project as the largest single financial commitment dedicated exclusively to the recovery of critically threatened species. While that characterization has not been independently standardized across the conservation sector, the scale of the initiative is unusual for species-focused philanthropy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving Beyond Short-Term Conservation Grants<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Phoenix Species Project is designed to provide sustained support to conservation organizations already working in the countries and ecosystems where the selected species survive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Re:wild, the initiative will combine funding with technical assistance for local partners that have the knowledge and experience to lead recovery efforts. The model is intended to give those organizations greater stability than is typically available through short-duration project grants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That longer-term approach reflects the realities of species recovery, which can require years of habitat protection, population monitoring, disease management, community engagement and, in some cases, captive breeding or reintroduction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UN Convention on Biological Diversity identifies vaccinations, supplementary feeding, protection of breeding sites, reintroductions and ex situ conservation among the interventions that may be needed to reduce extinction risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project grew out of discussions that began in 2021 among DiCaprio, Re:wild CEO Wes Sechrest, Bezos Earth Fund Chair Jeff Bezos and Vice Chair Lauren S\u00e1nchez Bezos. Those conversations were followed by consultations with conservation organizations, governments and Indigenous communities, according to The Associated Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Growing Species-Recovery Challenge<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The initiative arrives as global biodiversity indicators continue to deteriorate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The International Union for Conservation of Nature said in July that its Red List now includes 175,909 assessed species, of which 49,505 are threatened with extinction. The figure does not capture the full scale of the crisis because many species have not yet been formally assessed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Convention on Biological Diversity estimates that approximately one million species are threatened and that the global extinction rate is at least tens to hundreds of times higher than the average over the past 10 million years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Governments have committed under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to halt human-induced extinctions of known threatened species and significantly reduce extinction risks by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reaching those goals, however, remains constrained by limited financing. The framework identifies an estimated biodiversity finance gap of $700 billion per year, covering not only species conservation but also ecosystem protection, reform of harmful incentives and the alignment of public and private financial flows with nature goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Against that wider shortfall, the Phoenix commitment is substantial within species conservation but modest relative to the broader investment required to reverse global nature loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Test Will Be Measurable Recovery<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The initiative\u2019s significance will ultimately depend on whether sustained funding produces durable improvements in species populations and habitats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preventing immediate extinction is only one measure of success. The Convention on Biological Diversity defines a fully recovered species as one that is viable and able to perform its ecological role throughout its native range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phoenix Species Project may help demonstrate whether larger and longer-term philanthropic commitments can strengthen local conservation programs that have historically operated with limited resources. But private funding cannot replace the public policies on which long-term recovery often depends, including habitat protection, enforcement against illegal wildlife trade and responsible management of land and natural resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the 100 species included in the project, Phoenix represents a major expansion of financial and technical support. Whether it becomes a model for future conservation efforts will depend on transparent monitoring, locally defined priorities and verifiable progress in the wild.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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