Leonardo DiCaprio purchases Belizean island for ecosystem restoration

Actor and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio, alongside businessman Jeff Gram, purchased Blackadore Caye, a 42-hectare uninhabited island off the coast of Belize, for $1.75 million. The acquisition aims to transform the territory through a project titled ‘Blackadore Caye, a Restorative Island’.

The initiative seeks to combine ultra-luxury tourism with biological restoration to combat environmental degradation caused by overfishing, coastal erosion, and mangrove deforestation. Key components of the ecological plan include replanting mangroves to act as natural barriers and carbon sinks, establishing a protected marine zone for manatees, and ensuring the complex operates with a zero carbon footprint using renewable energy and advanced waste treatment systems.

While the project intends to limit construction to a small percentage of the land to prioritize conservation, the development has faced administrative delays and opposition from local fishing cooperatives and Belizean environmental organizations.