Don't Miss Our Holiday offers - up to 50% OFF! & More..
Six brave environmental activists, including an Indian, become Champions of the Earth 2024 – eSHOP24X7
Winners are recognized for their outstanding leadership, bold actions and sustainable solutions to combat land degradation, drought and desertification.
protecting people and the planet
This award, called Champion of the Earth, is the United Nations’ highest environmental award. It recognizes those in the public and private sectors, civil society and academia who have been at the forefront of efforts to protect the Earth.
Through this award, since 2005, 122 people have been honored for their outstanding and inspiring leadership in the field of environmental protection.
This year’s award nominations focused on recognizing people working to combat land degradation, increase drought resilience and prevent desertification.
Honoring ‘extraordinary people’
On this occasion, UNEP Executive Director Inger Anderson said that about 40 percent of the world’s land has already been degraded. At the same time, desertification is increasing and incidents of devastating droughts are continuously observed.
“The good news is that solutions exist, and extraordinary people and organizations around the world are showing that it is possible to protect and restore our planet,” he said.
“The great efforts being made by Champions of the Earth 2024 remind us that the fight to protect our lands, our rivers and our oceans can be won,” he said.
“Using the right policies, scientific advances, systemic reforms and activism, along with the vital leadership and knowledge of indigenous peoples, we can restore our ecosystems.”
Meet the heroes of Earth
from india Madhav Gadgil, He is an environmentalist who has received a lifetime achievement award. For decades, she has engaged in actions to protect people and the planet through research and community engagement.
“Historically, from environmental impact assessment of national and national policies to grassroots environmental engagement, Gadgil’s work has had a profoundly positive impact on public opinion and official policies related to the protection of natural resources,” UNEP said.
“He is particularly known for his unique work in the ecologically fragile Western Ghats region of India. “At a global level, this area is considered a unique center of biodiversity.”
Minister of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil, Sonia Guajajara He has received the award in the political leadership category.
Sonia Guajajara has been fighting for the rights of indigenous people for more than two decades.
In 2023, she became the first tribal minister and the first female tribal minister in the country. Under his leadership, 10 areas were recognized as tribal areas to stop deforestation, illegal logging and drug trafficking.
tribal rights advocate amy bowers cordalis Awarded in the Inspiration and Action category.
Amy Bowers works to ensure a better future for the Yurok Tribe and the Klamath River in Cordalis, United States. Drawing on his legal experience, he pursues his passion for restaurants.
According to UNEP, its work to restore river ecosystems and promote sustainable fishing practices demonstrates how bold environmental action can drive positive change while maintaining the rights and livelihoods of indigenous peoples.
Environmental Defenders of Rome, gabriel paun It has been awarded in the Inspiration and Action category. Gabriel Paun is the founder of the NGO ‘Agent Green’, which since 2009 has helped preserve thousands of hectares of precious biodiversity in the Carpathians by denouncing the destruction and illegal logging of Europe’s last ancient forests.
While documenting deforestation, he received death threats and was even physically attacked. This area is not only important to the ecosystem, but is also home to unique endangered biodiversity species such as wildebeest and wolves.
chinese scientists lu qi It has been awarded in the Science and Innovation category. Lu Qi’s efforts, spanning three decades in the scientific and political fields, have helped reverse land degradation and reduce the spread of deserts in China.
As chief scientist of the Chinese Academy of Forestry and founding president of the “Great Green Wall Institution”, Lu Qi played a key role in launching the world’s largest reforestation project.
He established a network of expert researchers and made important contributions in the field of establishing multilateral cooperation for the prevention of desertification, land degradation and drought.
Egypt’s SECEM initiative has been awarded in the Business Focus category for its efforts to drive farmers towards more sustainable agriculture.
Thanks to this initiative, by promoting biodynamic agriculture and afforestation and reforestation activities, a large desert area has been cultivated, which has not only transformed the area into a prosperous agribusiness but will also contribute to the sustainable development of the entire area. the country.
Restoration of ecosystems around the world.
According to UNEP, the United Nations Environment Programme, 3.2 million people around the world are currently at risk of desertification. Furthermore, it is feared that more than three-quarters of the world’s population will be affected by drought by 2050.
In March 2019, the United Nations General Assembly, in a resolution, declared the decade 2021 to 2030 as the United Nations Decade for Ecosystem Restoration.
Led by UNEP and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Decade aims to halt ecosystem loss around the world by restoring billions of hectares of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
The announcement of Champions of the Earth 2024 coincides with the celebration of Human Rights Day on December 10 and Resilience Day at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and COP16 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
