Leonardo DiCaprio, who bought Blackadore Caye, 104 acres of wild, unpopulated land off the coast of Belize with a partner, is planning to heal it by turning it into an eco-resort.
The 40-year-old environmental activist said that Belize was like heaven on earth and almost immediately, he found this opportunity to purchase an island there, the New York Times reported.
DiCaprio has teamed up with Paul Scialla, the chief executive of Delos, a New York City-based developer, to create an eco-conscious resort there and "Blackadore Caye, a Restorative Island," which opens to guests in 2018, will feature the trappings of many luxury resorts, with sprawling villas, infinity pools and stunning sunset views.
Blackadore Caye, which has suffered from overfishing, an eroding coastline and the deforestation of its mangrove trees, is a 45-minute boat ride from Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport in Belize City and a 15-minute boat ride from San Pedro, the nearest big town.
The villas for guests on Blackadore Caye will be built atop a massive platform that stretches in an arc over the water, with artificial reefs and fish shelters underneath. A nursery on the island will grow indigenous marine grass to support a manatee conservation area, and mangrove trees will be replanted, replacing invasive species.
A team of designers, scientists, engineers and landscape architects, some of whom have spent more than 18 months studying Blackadore Caye, will monitor the resort's impact on its surroundings.
The 'Inception' star added that the main focus is to do something that will change the world, adding it couldn't have gone to Belize and built on an island and done something like this, if it weren't for the idea that it could be groundbreaking in the environmental movement.
Scialla noted that the idea at Blackadore Caye is to push the envelope for what sustainability means, moving the idea beyond environmental awareness into restoration, adding they don't want to just do less harm or even have zero impact, but to actually help heal the island, to make it better than before.