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Oceans 5, an international environmental collective, announced Thursday that Leonardo DiCaprio‘s foundation is donating $2 million to help stop illegal fishing and establishing marine reserves in the world’s five oceans.
The actor’s donation to the collective comes on top of a $3 million grant he announced earlier this year to Oceana’s effort to protect sharks, marine mammals and key ocean habitats in the Eastern Pacific. At a State Department conference on marine conservation in June, DiCaprio said his foundation would contribute $7 million to a variety of marine conservation initiatives over the next 24 months.
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“The sad truth is that less than two percent of our oceans are fully protected,” DiCaprio said on Thursday. “We need to change that now.”
DiCaprio’s Oceans 5 grant will assist in the development of future initiatives and will directly support beneficiaries including: a new coalition of four conservation groups, working to strengthen controls on illegal fishing in the European Union, the world’s largest seafood market; a local organization in the Republic of Kiribati, working to implement the world’s fourth-largest marine reserve, located in the Central Pacific; a coalition of three organizations working to improve fisheries enforcement in Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Ecuador, including construction of a radar facility on Cocos Island; a group of Cook Islanders working to create a marine park within a territory that is three times the size of California; and several organizations working to create Arctic marine reserves in Canada, Greenland and Russia.
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The actor called Oceans 5 “an exciting new platform for marine conservation.” Founded in 2011, the “collaborative philanthropy” is comprised of eight foundations who “share a common inspiration for results-oriented grantmaking.” Its members and partners include: the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, the Oak Foundation, Planet Heritage Foundation, Marisla Foundation, Waitt Foundation, Moore Charitable Foundation, Angell Family Foundation and now, DiCaprio’s foundation.
“Oceans 5 is about making a difference for future generations,” said Ted Waitt, founder and chairman of the California-based Waitt Foundation. “Leo and his foundation bring a strategic focus to helping coastal communities protect biodiversity. It is a strong addition to our group.”
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