New Delhi:
Meet the Swiss Billionaire who is on a mission to save the planet! According to reports, Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss has pledged $1 billion to help protect 30% of the planet by 2030. With only 15% of the Earth's lands and 7% of the oceans protected in a natural state, some scientists induce that a majority of wild species will go extinct if humans don't conserve at least 50% of the Earth. Wyss previously donated $450 million to protect wild species on roughly 40 million acres around the world.
To do so, Wyss has set up the Wyss Campaign for Nature which will help nations and nonprofit conservation organizations create and expand protected areas. Unknown to many, this Swiss billionaire is no stranger to philanthropy and conservation work. Wyss previously also helped protect wild species on roughly 40 million acres of land and ocean after donating more than $450 million across Africa, South America, North America, and Europe. He is also one of several billionaires to sign the Giving Pledge, a commitment to give away at least half of one's wealth to charity.
Also Read | Goa considers checks on hotel bookings, food prices
His upcoming campaign is also targeted to support locally-led efforts to better manage parks and protected areas. As of now, there are currently nine projects on the Wyss Campaign for Nature website including marine preserves in Costa Rica and the Caribbean. The campaign is investing $48 million to save an estimated 10 million acres of land and 17,000 square kilometers of ecologically rich ocean areas across 13 countries.
"Every one of us - citizens, philanthropists, business and government leaders - should be troubled by the enormous gap between how little of our natural world is currently protected and how much should be protected," Wyss wrote. "It is a gap that we must urgently narrow, before our human footprint consumes the earth's remaining wild places."
Also Read | Abortion killed over 41 million in 2018 alone
Wyss will also sponsor research at the University of Bern, Switzerland so that scientists can determine the most effective and feasible conservation methods.
