Call for Nominations: Equator Prize 2019

Published by sanja

Deadline: 26 February 2019
Open to: community-based associations, NGOs operating in a rural area
Award: each Equator Prize winner will receive USD 10,000 and will be supported to participate in a series of policy dialogues and special events during the United Nations General Assembly and Climate Week in New York, in September 2019

Description

The Equator Prize 2019 will be awarded to outstanding local community and indigenous peoples’ initiatives that advance innovative nature-based development solutions for climate change mitigation and adaptation. The winners will join a prestigious network of 223 leading community-based organizations from 78 countries that have been awarded the Equator Prize since 2002. Each Equator Prize winner will receive USD 10,000 and will be supported to participate in a series of policy dialogues and special events during the United Nations General Assembly and Climate Week in New York, in September 2019. The Equator Prize 2019 Award Ceremony will coincide with the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Summit and the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.

Equator Prize 2019 Themes

This year’s Equator Prize will recognize innovative initiatives from local communities and indigenous peoples that demonstrate exceptional achievements in the areas of nature-based actions that address climate change mitigation and/or adaptation and advance local sustainable development. Winning initiatives will be honored for their successes in:

protecting, restoring and/or sustainably managing terrestrial and marine ecosystems, and thereby helping mitigate and adapting to climate change by keeping ecosystems intact, and/or

promoting local models for climate-smart food and agricultural production systems, and/or

advancing nature-based alternatives to a carbon economy.

Local nature-based solutions for sustainable development

The Equator Prize 2019 nomination process will offer community-based initiatives the opportunity to share their work on the Equator Initiative’s web portal of local nature-based solutions for sustainable development. The platform connects communities around the world and shares local solutions that work for people and planet. Participation in this platform is optional when submitting nominations for the Equator Prize.

In addition, the activities of successful nominees deliver on several Sustainable Development Goals simultaneously. For example, initiatives may improve food security, reduce poverty and inequality, or provide access to clean water. Crosscutting themes for the Equator Prize 2019 include advocacy for land and water rights, social and environmental justice, and gender equality.

Nominees will be evaluated based on:

  • Impact;
  • Innovation;
  • Scalability and/or replicability;
  • Resilience, Adaptability, and Self-Sufficiency;
  • Reduced inequalities;
  • Social Inclusion;
  • Gender Equality.

Eligibility

  • The initiative must have been in existence for at least three years, and/or the actions taken must have been in place for at least three years;
  • The nominee must be either a local community-based initiative, operating in a rural area, based in a country receiving support from the United Nations Development Programme (for a list of eligible countries, please check the official website); or an initiative led by indigenous peoples in any country, operating in a rural area;
  • The actions taken by the nominee must be nature-based and must deliver benefits related to two or more Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Eligible Initiatives

  • Community-based associations or organizations;
  • Community-based enterprises and cooperatives;
  • Women’s associations or organizations;
  • Indigenous or ethnic minority groups or associations;
  • Youth groups or associations;
  • Non-governmental organizations.

Awards

Each Equator Prize winner will receive USD 10,000 and will be supported to participate in a series of policy dialogues and special events during the United Nations General Assembly and Climate Week in New York, in September 2019.

How to apply?

Apply online through the given link.

For more information, please visit the official web page.