Bezos Earth Fund Teams Up with the Jane Goodall Institute — and Provides $5M Grant (Exclusive)

“I would like to truly thank the Bezos Earth Fund for supporting our conservation work in Africa,” said Dr. Jane Goodall

The Bezos Earth Fund is joining forces with the Jane Goodall Institute USA to “continue and expand” conservation efforts in the Congo Basin, PEOPLE can exclusively announce.

As part of the partnership, the organization — which was created by a commitment of $10 billion from the Amazon founder — has provided a $5 million grant to JGI to continue and expand its “evidence-based, community-led conservation efforts to protect forests and biodiversity” in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo, according to a press release.

In a video message, Jeff Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sánchez, the Bezos Earth Fund Vice Chair, said she is “thrilled to partner” with Dr. Jane Goodall, one of her “environmental heroes.”

“Jeff and I were privileged to experience the Congo Basin’s rich biodiversity and breathtaking beauty firsthand, which fueled our determination to protect it,” Sánchez said in a statement. Now, they’re “teaming up to help safeguard it now and for future generations. Simply put, the world can’t afford to lose the Congo Basin.”

The Congo Basin is “a critically important region essential to the healthy functioning of our shared planet,” per the press release.

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The partnership “will increase JGI’s efforts to safeguard the integrity and significant environmental carbon value of the larger Congo Basin rainforest” as well as “preserve the cultures and values of local and Indigenous communities.”

“I would like to truly thank the Bezos Earth Fund for supporting our conservation work in Africa,” the 89-year-old conservationist said in a statement. “The protection of these forests, with their rich biodiversity, is crucial not only for the survival of the great apes, but also in efforts to slow down climate change.”

Related: Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Visit Colombia to Learn About Deforestation After $10B Earth Fund Commitment

JGI “has been a leader in community-led conservation” since 1977, as noted in the news release.

Over the years, the institute has supported local communities, governments and more “with resources, facilitating tools, and trainings” that “help to inform land-use and conservation action planning, implementation of these plans, and other decision-making on and monitoring of landscapes across these regions.”

In addition to working with Indigenous peoples and local communities, JGI will also collaborate with the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature in the DRC and Ministry of Forest Economy in the RoC.

Related: Dolly Parton Awarded $100M Prize by Jeff Bezos ‘To Do Good Things’

“We are very grateful for this support and partnership with the Bezos Earth Fund,” Anna Rathmann, executive director, Jane Goodall Institute USA said in a statement. “Not only can JGI continue to advance our efforts with this generous funding, but the project will contribute significant environmental benefit and biodiversity protection to the larger Congo Basin rainforest through this community-led work, with the added benefit of preserving the natural heritage of this incredibly rich region of Africa.”

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