Prince of Wales pledges to back those ‘standing up and defending nature’

The Prince of Wales has pledged to back those “standing up and defending nature” with a new fund covering indigenous advocates protecting the Amazon.

William announced the initiative at his United for Wildlife summit being held in Rio de Janeiro and called on governments, businesses and civil society to “step up and play their role” in stopping environmental crime and destruction.

Hollywood star Leonardo Di Caprio recorded a video message, urging leaders meeting in Brazil this month to have an opportunity to act.

He said: “Nature is our most powerful solution I urge world leaders to unite with courage and ambition because the world depends on it.”

The new project is a collaboration between the prince’s Royal Foundation, the Co-ordination of Indigenous Organisations of the Brazilian Amazon, the Podaali Fund, an Amazonian-wide mechanism for raising and redistributing resources to Indigenous peoples, organisations, and communities, the Rainforest Foundation Norway and Re:wild.

The future king said it was: “A partnership that will first focus on some of the most pressing issues, expanding access to legal aid.

“Establishing an emergency support fund to help those in immediate danger find safety and work to raise awareness of indigenous peoples’ rights. ”

The initiative aims to break down the barriers to the safety and protection of indigenous leaders as they exercise their rights across nine states of the Brazilian Amazon.

It will prioritise expanding access to legal support and establishing an emergency response fund to help individuals at risk to reach safety – whether through emergency evacuation, secure communications, safe houses or humanitarian aid.

The future king told delegates from United for Wildlife, an umbrella working to end the illegal wildlife trade, and experts from Interpol, the UN and indigenous community leaders about the threat faced by the Amazon, crucial in regulating the Earth’s climate.

He said: “In the past year alone, over 1.7 million hectares of the Amazon were cleared across this region, much of which is driven by illicit activity.

“This crime fuels violence and corruption, distorts legitimate economies, and negatively impacts the livelihoods of millions.

“For indigenous communities, these losses are not just environmental but existential. As forests are destroyed, so are their ancestral lands, sacred sites and even lives.

“Indigenous peoples and local communities are partners and leaders with their own solutions.

“They are not just residents of the forest – they are its protectors. Their stewardship has kept deforestation rates in indigenous lands in the Brazilian Amazon up to 83% lower than in unprotected areas globally.”

Before the speech, William met Amazonian indigenous leaders, wildlife rangers, climate activists and some of the stars from his BBC Earth docuseries Guardians.

The new initiative aims to build on a ranger insurance package William announced at last year’s Earthshot Prize in South Africa and extend the prince’s commitment to those risking their lives to protect nature.

The five-year financial package, in partnership with Tusk Trust and the Game Ranger Association of Africa, was established to provide 10,000 rangers with access to affordable in-service and medical evacuation insurance cover.

One year into the rollout, the programme is insuring more than 6,000 rangers across Africa.

William is visiting the South American country for the first time to stage his Earthshot Prize in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday and will also attend the Cop30 UN Climate Change summit in Belem, a city in the Amazon.

Vanda Witoto, climate activist and indigenous leader, told the summit to be “small ants”, blasted big corporations and called for tenure rights for indigenous people.

She said: “Be like ants, ants work as a collective the forest teach us we need to act collectively.”

Addressing William, she said: “You are the small ants mobilising this ant hill of the world.”