AceShowbiz - Leonardo DiCaprio has pledged $5 million (£4.05 million) through his foundation to help fight the wildfires ravaging the Amazon rainforest.

The Oscar-winning actor set up his environmental foundation Earth Alliance last month (July 2019) alongside philanthropists Laurene Powell Jobs and Brian Sheth, with the organisation launching the Amazon Forest Fund on Sunday (August 25).

A statement posted on the Earth Alliance website read: "The Amazon rainforest is on fire, with more than 9,000 wildfires scorching delicate, irreplaceable landscapes across Brazil this week. The destruction of the Amazon rainforest is rapidly releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, destroying an ecosystem that absorbs millions of tons of carbon emissions every year and is one of the planet’s best defenses against the climate crisis."

The Amazon Forest Fund is also seeking donations, to enable them to "focus critical resources for indigenous communities and other local partners working to protect the life-sustaining biodiversity of the Amazon against the surge of fires currently burning across the region."