LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The crisis over the Amazon forest fires is an "incredible tragedy," US movie star Leonardo DiCaprio said on Tuesday. He urged governments to do more, amid growing international outrage over the destruction of the world's largest tropical rainforest.
A record number of fires are raging in the Amazon rainforest of concern because of their importance to the environment. These forests are said to produce one fifth of the world's oxygen.
DiCaprio's comments came a day after the Earth Alliance, founded with charity activists Lauren Powell Jobs and Brian Sheth, launched a $ 5 million emergency fund to help conserve the rainforest.
"There is a big tragedy happening around the world because of climate change and what is happening in the Amazon, which is really the lungs of the earth and a necessity to protect us in the future," DiCaprio said.
"We are trying to get others involved and tell them to contribute if they can," he said on the red carpet in the premiere of "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" in Japan.
"The governments of the world, including Brazil, must cooperate to ensure that this does not continue."