Context:

Recently, the United Nations and Environment Program (UNEP) announced the Champions of the Earth Award 2024.

The Champions of the Earth Award 2024

This year, nominations focused on finding champions who are restoring degraded land, increasing drought resilience, and preventing desertification.

The 2024 Champions of the Earth are: 

• Policy Leadership category: Sonia Guajajara, Brazil's first Indigenous Minister, for championing Indigenous rights for over two decades. Under her leadership, 13 territories were designated as Indigenous land to combat deforestation and illegal activities.
• Inspiration and Action category: 
• Amy Bowers Cordalis (USA): for working to restore the Klamath River and promote sustainable fishing practices, securing the Yurok tribe's future.
• Gabriel Paun (Romania): Founder of NGO Agent Green, protecting Europe's old-growth forests in the Carpathians, despite facing threats for exposing illegal deforestation.

• Science and Innovation category: Lu Qi (China) for efforts to combat desertification and implement the Great Green Wall afforestation project, fostering global partnerships. 
• Entrepreneurial Vision category: SEKEM (Egypt), a sustainable agriculture initiative, has pioneered biodynamic farming and transformed desert land into thriving ecosystems, advancing sustainable development. 
• Lifetime Achievement category: Madhav Gadgil (India) for his research and activism in the Western Ghats, influencing environmental policies and promoting biodiversity conservation. 

About Champions of the Earth Award

It is the UN's highest environmental honor established in 2005.

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) annually honours individuals and organizations working on innovative and sustainable solutions to address the triple planetary crisis: 

• Climate change, 
• Nature and biodiversity loss, and 
• Pollution and waste.

Champions of the Earth are celebrated in four categories:

• Policy leadership - Public sector officials leading global or national action for the environment. They shape dialogue, lead commitments and act for the good of the planet.
• Inspiration and action - Leaders taking bold steps to inspire positive change to protect our world. They lead by example, challenge behaviour and inspire millions.
• Entrepreneurial vision - Visionaries challenging the status quo to build a cleaner future. They build systems, create new technology and spearhead a groundbreaking vision. 
• Science and innovation -Trailblazers pushing the boundaries of technology for profound environmental benefit. They invent possibilities for a more sustainable world.