Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon and currently the world’s third-richest person, has made a substantial commitment to environmental conservation in Africa.
Through his environmental fund, The Bezos Earth Fund, he has pledged $22.8 million to support locally-led restoration projects in the Greater Rift Valley in Kenya and the Lake Kivu and Rusizi River Basin, spanning the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi.
This generous funding is part of The Bezos Earth Fund‘s larger commitment of $1 billion dedicated to global landscape restoration. Notably, it builds upon the fund’s previous grant of $42.2 million, aimed at accelerating the African restoration initiative known as AFR100.
This substantial contribution was announced by Andrew Steer, president and CEO of The Bezos Earth Fund, during the Africa Climate Summit held in Nairobi, Kenya. The summit also featured statements from Rachel Ruto, the First Lady of Kenya, and Dorcas Rigathi, the Second Lady of Kenya.
Both Rachel Ruto and Dorcas Rigathi underscored the pivotal role of restoration efforts in empowering vulnerable populations to enhance their landscapes and livelihoods. In particular, Rachel Ruto articulated a vision to mobilize African First Ladies as advocates for grassroots, women-led restoration initiatives across the continent.
Steer emphasized the significance of Africa in the global fight against climate change, biodiversity loss, and poverty. He stated: “Africa is home to the world’s largest restoration opportunity and is a critical player in the global fight against climate change, nature loss, and poverty. Thirty-four African countries have proposed an ambitious vision to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land by 2030. With these grants, we are proud to support the next generation of African institutions that are at the heart of the continent’s restoration movement and begin the vital work of leveraging philanthropy into private investment in restoration.”
This move by Bezos and The Bezos Earth Fund follows their announcement in October 2022, outlining plans to collaborate with African and European nations to bolster land restoration efforts.
The $22.8 million earmarked for restoration efforts is expected to target approximately 600,000 hectares of land. This ambitious endeavour could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by a staggering 42 million metric tonnes by 2050, equivalent to removing 9.3 million gas-powered vehicles from the world’s roads.
The grants provided by The Bezos Earth Fund will offer support to community and grassroots-led organizations involved in various aspects of restoration work. This includes initiatives related to research on native tree seed supplies, land change monitoring, fundraising, and investment facilitation for restoration projects.
