Leonardo DiCaprio hits back at Brazilian President's claims that he is to blame for Amazon fires – Daily Mail, Dailymail.co.uk

            

Leonardo DiCaprio hits back at Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s claims that he is to blame for Amazon fires, as he denies making donations to groups allegedly linked to blazes

• DiCaprio hit back at Bolsonaro’s claims he helped fund groups linked to fire
• Jair Bolsonaro earlier accused DiCaprio of ‘giving money to set Amazon on fire’
• Actor’s environmental organization pledged $ 5 million to help protect Amazon

BySophie Tanno For MailonlineandAfp

Published:15: 20 EST, (November)|Updated:15: 29 EST, (November)

In his weekly broadcast Thursday, Bolsonaro accused DiCaprio of ‘collaborating with the fires in the Amazon’ by donating $ 500, 000 to a group he said had started fires in the ecologically sensitive forest in order to attract donations.

While citing no evidence, Bolsonaro said that DiCaprio had earmarked a part of the $ 500, 000 ‘for the people who were setting fires. ”

Bolsonaro repeated the accusations Friday, telling supporters: ‘DiCaprio is a cool guy, isn’ t he? Giving money to set the Amazon on fire. ‘

DiCaprio’s environmental organization has pledged $ 5 million to help protect the Amazon after fires destroyed large parts of the rainforest in July and August.

DiCaprio, long an environmental activist, said in his denial that ‘the future of these irreplaceable ecosystems is at stake, and I am proud to stand with the groups protecting them.’

He offered praise for those in Brazil who work ‘to save their natural and cultural heritage.’

DiCaprio has previously attributed part of the problem to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro who he says allowed farmers and loggers to ‘clear the land’ after taking office in January.

Since 2018, the Alter do Chao volunteer fire brigade has helped firefighters combat huge blazes in northern Para state, including a recent fire in the Alter do Chao region that destroyed the equivalent of 1, 600 soccer fields.

But regional police claim that some members linked to the group have actually started fires in a bid to raise

Four of the group’s members were arrested on Tuesday before being released two days later .

Invest igators say the volunteers set several fires in order to sell photos of the blazes to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) for use in a campaign to raise international donations – including from DiCaprio.

WWF’s Brazil subsidiary has denied the allegations, saying it transferred only around 70, 000 reals ($ 16, 800) to the local group for firefighting equipment.

Bolsonaro blamed NGOs for the fires in August that destroyed vast swaths of the rainforest.

Those fires drew widespread international condemnation of Bolsonaro’s stewardship of the Amazon.

Officials with the Alter do Chao brigade have called Bolsonaro’s allegations unfounded.

Both Amnesty International and Greenpeace have accused the government of loosening environmental enforcement in the Amazon and, through government rhetoric, encouraging illegal deforestation.