The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has launched a call for nominations for the annual Champions of the Earth award – the UN’s highest environmental honour, which recognizes outstanding leaders from government, civil society, and the private sector for their transformative impact on the environment.
This year, for the awards the focus is on land restoration, drought resilience, combating desertification UNEP encourages nominations of individuals and organizations developing and implementing sustainable policies and solutions to restore land, enhance drought resilience, and combat desertification.
The UN Convention to Combat Desertification is also marking its thirtieth anniversary this year.
Since the award’s inception in 2005, Champions of the Earth has recognized 116 laureates, including 27 world leaders, 70 individuals and 19 organizations. In 2023, UNEP received a record 2,500 nominations for the award. as we approach the halfway mark of the The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Which aims to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems on every continent and in every ocean. urgent action is needed to protect and revive ecosystems. Restoration improves livelihoods, reduces poverty, builds resilience to extreme weather and slows the climate crisis. To support the natural world, governments, civil society and the private sector must scale up financing, build capacity and shift behaviours.
On 5 June 2024, this years world environment day is also focused on the theme that- “We cannot turn back time, but we can grow forests, revive water sources, and bring back soils. We are the generation that can make peace with land.” .
Restoring and reviving nature is critical to improving human and planetary health. Leaders from all sectors and regions are actively working to address the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity and nature loss, and pollution and waste. The Champions of the Earth help lead that push.
The writer of this article is Dr. Seema Javed, an environmentalist & a communications professional in the field of climate and energy
