DiCaprio donates $7m to marine conservation efforts

"What we need is sustained activism and courageous political leadership," Leonardo DiCaprio said.

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio has pledged to donate $7million from his foundation towards marine conservation projects for the next two years.

DiCaprio, 39, made the announcement at the State Department “Our Ocean” conference on June 16, reported Ace Showbiz .

“Since my very first dive in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia 20 years ago to the dive I got to do in the very same location just two years ago, I’ve witnessed environmental devastation firsthand,” he said.

The

Wolf of Wall Street star added, “What once had looked like an endless underwater utopia is now riddled with bleached coral reefs and massive dead zones.”

The Shutter Island actor, who dreamt of becoming a marine biologist, further added, “What we need is sustained activism and courageous political leadership. We cannot afford to be bystanders in this pre—apocalyptic scenario. This isn’t simply an exercise in wildlife conservation. If we don’t do something to save the ocean now, it won’t be just the sharks and the dolphins that suffer. It will be our children and our grandchildren.”