Winners are recognized for their outstanding leadership, bold actions and sustainable solutions to combat land degradation, drought and desertification.
Protect people and the planet
Known as Champion of the Earth, this award is the highest environmental award of the United Nations. It recognizes individuals from the private and public sectors, civil society and academia who have been at the forefront of efforts to save the planet.
Through this award, since 2005, 122 people have been honored for their outstanding and inspirational leadership in the field of environmental protection.
This year’s award nominations focus on recognizing individuals who are working to combat land erosion, build resilience to drought and prevent desertification.
Honoring ‘extraordinary people’
On this occasion, UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said that about 40 percent of the world’s land has already been degraded. At the same time, desertification is increasing and severe droughts are occurring regularly.
“The good news is that there are solutions, and extraordinary people and organizations around the world are showing that protecting and restoring our planet is possible,” he said.
“The great efforts made by the 2024 Earth Champions remind us that it is possible to win the fight to protect our land, our rivers and our oceans,” he said.
“Using the right policies, scientific advances, systemic reforms and activism, along with the vital leadership and knowledge of indigenous peoples, we can restore our ecosystems.”
Meet the Earth Heroes
of India Madhav Gadgil, An ecologist who has been awarded a lifetime achievement award. For decades, he has been engaged in action to protect people and the planet through research and community engagement.
“Godgil’s work has historically had an enormous positive impact on public opinion and government policy on natural resource protection, from environmental impact assessments of country and national policies to grassroots environmental engagement,” UNEP said.
“He is particularly known for his unique work in the ecologically fragile Western Ghats region of India. “Globally, this area is considered a unique biodiversity hotspot.”
Minister of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil, Sonia Guajara The award was given in the ethical leadership category.
Sonia Gujajara has been fighting for the rights of indigenous people for more than two decades.
In 2023, she became the first Minister of Adivasis and the country’s first woman Adivasi Minister. Under his leadership, 10 areas were recognized as tribal areas to stop deforestation, illegal logging and drug trafficking.
Tribal rights lawyer Amy Bowers Cordalis Awarded in the Inspiration and Action category.
Amy Bowers works to ensure a better future for the Yurok Tribe and the Klamath River in Cordalis, USA. Drawing on her legal skills, she follows her passion for recovery.
According to UNEP, their work in restoring river ecosystems and promoting sustainable fishing practices demonstrates how bold environmental action can bring about positive change while maintaining the rights and livelihoods of indigenous peoples.
Environmentalists from Rome, Gabriel Paun Honored in the Inspiration and Action category. Gabriel Poun is the founder of the NGO ‘Agent Green’, which since 2009 has helped preserve thousands of hectares of precious biodiversity in the Carpathians by exposing the destruction and illegal logging of Europe’s last old-growth forests.
While documenting deforestation, he received death threats and was even physically attacked. The area is not only important for ecosystems but also home to endangered species of unique biodiversity such as wildebeest and wolves.
Chinese scientists Lu Qi Honored in Science and Innovation category. Lu Kui’s efforts in science and policy, spanning three decades, have helped halt land degradation and reduce desertification in China.
As chief scientist of the Chinese Academy of Forestry and founding president of the ‘Great Green Wall Institution’, Lu Qi played a key role in launching the world’s largest forestry project.
He developed a network of expert researchers and made significant contributions to establishing multilateral cooperation in combating desertification, land erosion and drought.
Egypt’s SECEM initiative Awarded in the Entrepreneurial Vision category for efforts to move farmers towards more sustainable agriculture.
A large desert area has been made cultivable by encouraging biodynamic agriculture and afforestation and afforestation activities under this initiative, which will not only transform the area into a thriving agribusiness but also contribute to sustainable development in the country as a whole.
Ecosystem restoration around the world
According to UNEP, the United Nations Environment Programme, 3.2 million people worldwide are currently at risk of desertification. Additionally, it is feared that more than three-quarters of the world’s population will be affected by drought by 2050.
In March 2019, the United Nations General Assembly, in a resolution, declared 2021 to 2030 as the United Nations Decade for Ecosystem Restoration.
Led by UNEP and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Decade aims to halt ecosystem loss worldwide by restoring billions of hectares of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
The announcement of the 2024 Earth Champions coincides with Human Rights Day on 10 December and the celebration of Resilience Day at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and COP16 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.