Yerevan, Armenia – A new coalition backed by the Bezos Earth Fund announced on Oct. 16 that it will direct more than $500 million over five years toward the recovery of the world’s most imperiled plants and animals. The pledge, made at the United Nations biodiversity summit known as COP17, seeks to address a gap in global conservation spending that has long favored the creation of protected areas over direct help for species on the brink. Eight additional organizations joined the Bezos Earth Fund in forming the Species Recovery Alliance, which will coordinate separate investments rather than create one shared pool of money. The move comes as evidence mounts that biodiversity loss continues at a rapid pace despite existing protections.
Evidence of Ongoing Declines
Recent assessments show that populations of monitored vertebrate species fell by an average of 73 percent between 1970 and 2022, according to WWF’s 2026 Living Planet Report. The drop reached 80 percent across Africa. A separate United Nations review found that fewer than half of the biodiversity targets examined so far are on track to be met. These figures underscore why simply expanding reserves has not reversed the broader trend. Many species face specific threats, such as habitat fragmentation, invasive predators, or disease, that require tailored actions beyond land set-asides.
Focus on Target 4
Cristián Samper, managing director and leader of nature solutions at the Bezos Earth Fund, noted that international attention has centered on expanding protected zones while other goals receive less support. “We’re forgetting some of the other targets, in particular, the Target 4 on recovery of endangered species,” he said during the summit. Target 4 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework calls for urgent measures to stop human-driven extinctions and promote the recovery of threatened species. Samper added that protected areas alone cannot meet every need. “Setting up protected areas and dealing with the other issues is not enough,” he said. Many at-risk plants and animals still require active interventions, such as captive breeding, reintroduction programs, or control of specific threats, to regain viable populations.
Structure of the New Alliance
The Species Recovery Alliance will align funding decisions and share expertise among its members instead of merging resources into a single account. This approach allows each organization to maintain its own priorities while avoiding duplication of effort. The Bezos Earth Fund serves as a founding partner alongside Re:wild, Rainforest Trust, Fondation Segré, and five additional groups. By coordinating rather than consolidating, the alliance aims to stretch the $500 million commitment across a wider range of projects and geographies. The five-year timeline gives participants time to identify priority species, design interventions, and measure results before additional rounds of funding are considered.
Practical Next Steps
The announcement signals a shift in how large philanthropic commitments are structured in conservation. Rather than treating species recovery as a secondary outcome of habitat protection, the alliance treats it as a distinct objective that needs dedicated resources and expertise. For the organizations involved, the immediate task is to translate the pledge into concrete projects that can demonstrate measurable gains in population numbers or threat reduction. Success will depend on sustained coordination and the ability to adapt strategies as new data emerge. The broader conservation community will watch whether this model attracts further commitments or influences how governments allocate their own biodiversity budgets in the years ahead.
