$500 million biodiversity funding announced at COP17 Leaders' Summit in Yerevan

A new Species Recovery Donor Alliance, comprising nine private donors including the Bezos Earth Fund, pledged to invest an additional US$500 million by 2030 to support threatened species recovery in more than 100 countries, Dr. Cristián Samper, Managing Director and Leader for Nature Solutions at the Bezos Earth Fund, announced at the COP17 Leaders’ Summit in Yerevan, Armenia.

"I'm very pleased to announce today that we're launching a new Species Recovery Donor Alliance jointly with eight other private donors,” Samper said.

The announcement directly supports Target 4 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, focused on preventing extinctions and recovering threatened species.

The $500 million is a collective pledge by nine donors. Samper did not specify the Fund's individual contribution.

Samper also reported that the Protecting Our Planet (POP) coalition, which includes the Bezos Earth Fund and 11 other donors, expects to have awarded $3.7 billion of its $5 billion commitment by the end of 2026, putting it ahead of schedule toward its 2030 goal.

The announcement also coincided with the launch of CARES, a government-led Coalition of Action to Recover Endangered Species, involving Armenia, Colombia and 14 other founding countries.