The UN Development Programme (UNDP) and partners announce the winners of the 14th Equator Prize, acknowledging Indigenous peoples and local communities from ten countries. Selected from a pool of over 500 nominations received from 108 countries, the winners are from Brazil, Burundi, Bolivia, Ecuador, Greenland, Guatemala, Liberia, Philippines, Nepal and Zambia. The winners will be awarded at a ceremony in November, during UNDP's Nature for Life Hub event.
This year's winners shine a spotlight on the theme of the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples: Indigenous Youth as Agents of Change for Self-determination. Among this year's awardees, four are initiatives led by youth, each demonstrating a strong dedication to fostering intergenerational equity within their communities.
The 2023 awardees now become a part of a distinguished network comprising 275 communities that have been acknowledged for their exceptional contributions to adapt to and mitigate climate change and reduce poverty since 2002.
Equator Prize winners will receive US$15,000, and the opportunity to take part in a series of special virtual events associated with the UN General Assembly, SDG Summit, UN Climate Ambition Summit and COP 28 in Dubai.
Equator Prize winners inspire us to reimagine our approach to sustainable development, reminding us that real progress lies in empowering Indigenous people and local communities, embracing their invaluable wisdom. We are thankful to the Government of Norway, the Government of Germany, the Sall Family Foundation, and all of our partners for the continued generous support to promoting the nature-based solutions," stated Haoliang Xu, UNDP Associate Administrator and Director of UNDP's Bureau for Policy and Programme Support.
Among this year's winners are also a community safeguarding 10,000 hectares of forest from illegal mining and deforestation; a non-governmental organization integrating ancestral knowledge to protect the Arctic ecosystem and to defend land and ocean rights; an organization fostering sustainable natural resource management and community-led micro small and medium enterprises; a locally-driven organization focused on improving food security and livelihood through crop diversification and sustainable crop management; a community-led organization that successfully rejuvenated and conserved more than 10,000 hectares of mangrove forest, revived fish population and protected coastal ecosystem; and the first community in the region to gain formal ownership of their traditional land.
