PC: BBC/Bezos Earth Fund
The Pacific is becoming a major focus of Jeff Bezos’ environmental philanthropy, with the Bezos Earth Fund announcing more than $25 million in new grants for ocean conservation across five Pacific nations. It also brings the fund’s total awards under a wider $100 million Pacific commitment to $63.3 million, according to Bezos Earth Fund. The initiative has a target of helping protect at least 30% of the region’s waters by 2030. The first $37.5 million round was announced in 2025, bringing the combined value of the two rounds to $63.3 million. She has been vice chair of the Bezos Earth Fund since its early period and has become a more prominent figure in the couple’s philanthropic work since marrying Bezos in June 2025. Around the same period, the fund awarded $30 million through its AI Grand Challenge, supporting environmental applications including technology intended to identify plant species and help decode the songs of endangered birds. Early warning and early action save lives when alerts are timely, messages are trusted and last-mile delivery reaches the vulnerable. ” The region experienced its second-warmest year on record in 2025, according to WMO, with marine heatwaves disrupting ecosystems and fisheries. Following the latest awards, it said 17 of the Pacific’s 22 countries are now working on protecting or sustainably managing their waters. The network covers almost 625,000 square miles, while Niue has protected 40% of its national waters. Since April, the organisation has announced $34 million for more sustainable fabrics, $26 million for wildfire detection and prevention, and $100 million for projects aimed at turning vacant urban land into parks across eight US cities, as reported by Bezos Earth Fund and Fortune. Another $100 million has been committed through a partnership with Leonardo DiCaprio’s Re to support efforts involving some of the world’s most threatened species.
She also announced the first round of Pacific grants last year.
Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, executive secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific said, “Across Asia and the Pacific, heat is intensifying multi-hazard risks, intersecting with food systems, public health, infrastructure and oceans, and placing new pressures on health and livelihoods, according to World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). The Earth Fund says its previous grants are already producing changes in the region. The latest funding is intended to help governments protect large areas of marine territory while developing longer-term plans for managing their waters. Lauren Sánchez Bezos is leading the latest Pacific grant round. The wider impacts extend into food systems, infrastructure, public health and livelihoods. The Pacific programme is only one part of an unusually busy period for the Bezos Earth Fund.
French Polynesia, one of the earlier recipients, established what the fund described as the world’s largest network of fully protected marine areas earlier this year.