Equator Prize 2020 Call for Nominations

Published by Bojana

Deadline: 9 January 2020
Open to: indigenous peoples’ groups from any country, operating in rural areas
Benefits: 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 IUCN World Conservation Congress in Marseille, France, in June 2020

Description  

This year’s Equator Prize will recognize innovative initiatives from local communities and indigenous peoples that demonstrate exceptional achievements in the area of nature-based solutions for local sustainable development. Winning initiatives will be honored for their successes in protecting, restoring and/or sustainably managing biodiversity for positive development outcomes.
Thematic priorities include:

  • Nature for Prosperity
    Protection, restoration and/or sustainable management of terrestrial or marine ecosystems, biodiversity, and/or wildlife that enables sustainable and green livelihoods, enterprises and jobs; including indigenous economies.
  • Nature for Water
    Protection, restoration and/or sustainable management of ecosystems for water security
  • Nature for Climate
    Protection, restoration and/or sustainable management of ecosystems that help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, and/or help communities adapt to the impacts of climate change

Eligibility

  • The initiative must have existed for at least three years or the actions carried out must have taken 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 click here);
  • The actions taken by the nominee must be nature-based, and must deliver benefits related to two or more Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Special consideration will be given to nominees working on ecosystem intactness and integrity, advocacy for land and water rights, social and environmental justice, and gender equality. In addition, the activities of successful nominees should deliver on several Sustainable Development Goals simultaneously.

Local communities from rural areas in 146 countries are eligible for nomination. Nominations are open to indigenous peoples’ groups from any country, operating in rural areas.

Benefits     

The prize will be awarded to outstanding local community and indigenous peoples’ initiatives that advance nature-based solutions for sustain-able development. The winners will join a prestigious network of 245 leading community-based organizations from 81 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 IUCN World Conservation Congress in Marseille, France, in June 2020.

The Equator Prize 2020 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.

How to Apply?

To access the online nomination system, please visit prize.equatorinitiative.org. Nominations may be submitted in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Indonesian, Portuguese, Russian, or Spanish.

For more information, and to apply, please visit the official website.