UNDP Equator Prize 2024 call for nominations

About the Equator Initiative and the Equator Prize

The Equator Initiative is a United Nations-led partnership that brings together governments, civil society, grassroots organisations, and businesses to foster resilient communities by recognising and advancing local nature-based solutions for sustainable development. The Equator Initiative creates opportunities and platforms to share knowledge and good practices, develops capacities of Indigenous peoples and local communities, informs policy through convening multi-stakeholder dialogues, and fosters enabling environments to replicate and scale up community action.

The Equator Prize 2024 will be awarded to outstanding Indigenous peoples and local community initiatives that advance innovative nature-based solutions for sustainable development, in alignment with the newly adopted Global Biodiversity Framework. The winners will join a prestigious network of 285 leading community-based organizations from around 89 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 in the fall of 2024.

Equator Prize 2024 Theme: Nature for Climate Action

This year’s Equator Prize will recognise innovative initiatives that showcase how action on nature, led by Indigenous Peoples and local communities, can provide effective climate solutions, and demonstrate effective pathways to transform our global systems for people and Planet. Winning initiatives will be honoured for their successes in protecting, restoring, and/or sustainably managing nature for nature-positive development outcomes.

Thematic priorities include:

• Nature for Climate Mitigation: Actions to protect, conserve and restore forests, mangroves, peatlands, soils, oceans, and marine ecosystems.

• Nature for Climate Adaptation and Resilience: Actions to integrate nature into planning for water security, food security, disaster risk reduction, enhanced livelihoods and community resilience. Building climate resilient food systems, and developing regenerative agriculture and forestry practices to adapt to climate change.

• Nature for a Just Transition: Actions to green the economy in a way that is as fair and inclusive as possible to all society, including Indigenous Peoples and local communities, creating decent work opportunities and leaving no one behind. Showing how solutions led at the local-level can contribute to a global value shift, including an economic and finance shift. Harnessing circular economy and reusing materials to reduce the need for resource extraction and minimise pressure on wildlife and threats to biodiversity. Shaping a nature-positive future by rethinking business as usual as an opportunity to sustainably manage and regenerate nature and catalyse zero-carbon economies.

The Equator Prize 2024 nomination process offers 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 the planet. Participation in this platform is optional when submitting nominations for the Equator Prize.

Special consideration will be given to nominees championing youth and women-led climate action.

More Information

For more details on the thematic priorities, eligibility requirements and selection criteria, please visit: https://prize.equatorinitiative.org/about-the-prize/

Make a Nomination

To make a nomination, please visit: https://prize.equatorinitiative.org/