Dedicated to the protection and wellbeing of all Earth's inhabitants
Our Mission
The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation is dedicated to the long-term health and wellbeing of all Earth’s inhabitants. Through collaborative partnerships, we support innovative projects that protect vulnerable wildlife from extinction, while restoring balance to threatened ecosystems and communities. LDF's grantmaking program encompasses six focus areas:
- year founded
1998
- projects funded
200+
- grants awarded
$100m
- organizations supported
132
- countries
50
- oceans
5
Watch the LDF video
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“Clean air, water, and a livable climate are inalienable human rights. And solving this crisis is not a question of politics, it is a question of our own survival.”
Leonardo DiCaprio -
“In a few decades, the relationship between the environment, resources, and conflict may seem almost as obvious as the connection we see today between human rights, democracy, and peace.”
Wangari Maathai -
“Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together… all things connect.”
Chief Seattle
One Earth Climate Model
A groundbreaking new scientific initiative that proves we can keep the world below 1.5˚C in global temperature rise.
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NewsA new song for the Earth
Artist and rapper Lil Dicky debut “Earth,” a new music-led initiative to raise awareness for climate change and the environment.
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NewsLDF Executive Director Justin Winters introduces One Earth at Bioneers
One Earth, an initiative of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, has developed a bold, new plan to avert a climate crisis and protect our biosphere. Justin Winters explains the three OE goals humanity needs to achieve by 2050.
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NewsEavesdrop on forest sounds to effectively monitor biodiversity, researchers say
Recording and analyzing forest soundscapes can be an effective way of monitoring changes in animal communities in tropical forests and human presence, researchers say in a new commentary published in Science.
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NewsThe Global Deal For Nature
"A Global Deal for Nature (GDN): Guiding Principles, Milestones, and Targets” proposes a bold vision for what we need to do to ensure the functioning of the biosphere.
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NewsThe Pangolin Crisis Fund: hope for pangolins
Wildlife Conservation Network, together with Save Pangolins and in partnership with the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, is launching the Pangolin Crisis Fund to help save one of the world’s most unique animals from extinction.
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NewsWaorani People win landmark legal victory against Ecuadorian Government
A key legal precedent for indigenous rights and rainforest protection in a major setback for Ecuadorian Government’s plans to drill for oil across 7 million acres of South-Central Ecuadorian Amazon.
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NewsThe latest climate science must mobilize us, not paralyze us
The long-awaited new IPCC report makes for grim reading: To avoid severe economic and social shocks and protect essential ecosystems, we urgently need to limit the increase in global temperature to within 1.5° C. But how?
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NewsThe first-ever practical Guide to making shark and ray MPAs more effective goes live
How can marine protected areas save more sharks and benefit livelihoods? A new guide, based on research funded by the Shark Conservation Fund, helps planners design better shark MPAs.
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NewsGuns, corals and steel: are nuclear shipwrecks a biodiversity hotspot?
This is the fifth part of the ongoing Reefscape series. The Reefscape Project of the asnerlab.org is supported by the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation and is journalistically hosted by Mongabay.
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NewsOne-third of the world’s protected areas are threatened by ‘intense’ human pressure
A new study finds that a full third of protected areas have been converted for human use or are facing major pressures from development. It’s clear governments need to do more to protect vulnerable ecosystems.
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NewsDeforestation is tearing through our carbon budget
To stay below 1.5°, keep the forest standing.
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News’Unprecedented’ loss of biodiversity threatens humanity, report finds
The UN’s IPBES released a summary of far-reaching research on the threats to biodiversity on May 6. The findings are dire, indicating that around 1 million species of plants and animals face extinction.
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NewsFarming for carbon: why farmers are key to fighting climate change
A Farmer’s journey into Carbon Farming with help from LDF Grantee Carbon Cycle Institute.
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NewsProtection of primary forests is priority, but reforestation is also crucial
A new international study shows that secondary forests remain species and carbon-poor compared to undisturbed primary forests.
