Bezos Earth Fund Pledges $24.5 Million to Build World’s First Cross-Border Marine Biosphere Reserve

The world’s largest climate philanthropy, the Bezos Earth Fund, has committed $24.5 million to protect vital coastal ecosystems across Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador. The four new grants are part of a broader effort to establish the world’s first transboundary marine biosphere reserve, aimed at safeguarding critical migration routes for species such as hammerhead sharks and sea turtles. The funding also supports local communities and conservation groups working to enhance marine protection.

The largest share of the grants — $13.85 million — will go to Re:wild, an organisation supporting the creation and strengthening of coastal reserves and nursery zones. According to Cristian Samper, the Fund’s head of nature, the region’s ecological significance demands cross-border collaboration to ensure long-term protection. Over the past two years, the four countries have expanded protected marine areas to more than 600,000 square kilometres across 10 zones, and efforts are now underway to unify them into a single biosphere reserve.

These grants form part of the Fund’s $1 billion pledge toward the global goal of protecting 30% of the planet’s land and oceans by 2030. As a contributor to the ‘Protecting Our Planet Challenge,’ a coalition targeting $5 billion in conservation funding, the Bezos Earth Fund has so far deployed nearly $700 million, while the wider group has contributed over $3 billion. Samper also revealed plans for a similar reserve in the Pacific, potentially five times larger than the continental United States, with additional grants expected in 2026.

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