Quito, January 22 (RHC-teleSUR) -- Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio has pledged US$15 million in grants for environmental projects, US$3.4 million of which has been promised specifically to causes in Ecuador.

The U.S. actor said that the money for Ecuador will be shared between Clearwater, which has worked closely with the victims of the Chevron oil disaster, and the Ceibo Alliance, which brings together members of the Cofan, Secoya, Huaorani and Siona nationalities to protect the land, water and culture of the areas they live in.

According to the Leonardo DiCaprio foundation website, the funding will "empower indigenous people in the Amazon” and support a "strategic collaboration between four indigenous tribes in the region, standing together against oil and timber interests.”

The actor picked up a crystal award for his work on environmentalism at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday. During his acceptance speech, he announced that his foundation will look to provide financial support to worthy causes across the globe.

In his impassioned acceptance speech, DiCaprio asked political leaders to take more action against climate change and decried those who deny it is a problem.  He also insisted fossil fuels must be kept in the ground. 

DiCaprio has been a vocal advocate of climate action and tackling corporate greed as part of the fight against the climate crisis. At a speech to delegates at the COP21 climate summit in Paris last month, DiCaprio called climate change the “most fundamental and existential threat to our species.”