By Joyce Ojanji
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has announced six recipients of the 2024 Champions of the Earth, honored for their outstanding leadership, brave actions and sustainable solutions to tackle land degradation, drought and desertification.
The Champions of the Earth award is the UN’s highest environmental honour and recognizes trailblazers from the public and private sectors, civil society and academia who are at the forefront of efforts to protect both people and the planet. Since its inception in 2005, 122 laureates have been awarded.
The 2024 winners are:
Brazil’s Minister of Indigenous Peoples Sonia Guajajara, who has been advocating for Indigenous rights for more than two decades, was honoured in the Policy Leadership category. Guajajara became Brazil’s first Minister of Indigenous Peoples and the country’s first female Indigenous minister in 2023. Under her leadership, 10 territories have been recognized as Indigenous land to ward off deforestation, illegal logging, and drug traffickers.
Amy Bowers Cordalis, an Indigenous rights advocate honoured in the Inspiration and Action category, is using her legal expertise and passion for restoration to secure a better future for the Yurok tribe and the Klamath River in the United States. Cordalis’ work to restore the river ecosystem and encourage the adoption of sustainable fishing practices demonstrate how bold environmental action can bring significant positive change, while upholding Indigenous Peoples’ rights and livelihoods.
Gabriel Paun, a Romanian environmental defender, is the founder of NGO Agent Green, which has been helping save thousands of hectares of precious biodiversity in the Carpathians since 2009 by exposing the destruction and illegal logging of Europe’s last old-growth forest. He was honoured in the Inspiration and Action category.
Lu Qi, a Chinese scientist honoured in the Science and Innovation category, has worked in science and policy sectors for three decades helping China reverse degradation and shrink its deserts. As Chief Scientist of the Chinese Academy of Forestry and founding President of the Institute of Great Green Wall, Lu has played a key role in implementing the world’s largest afforestation project, establishing expert research networks and partnerships, and boosting multilateral cooperation to stem desertification, land degradation and drought.
Madhav Gadgil, an Indian ecologist honoured in the Lifetime Achievement category, has spent decades protecting people and the planet through research and community engagement. From landmark environmental impact assessments of state and national policies to grassroots environmental engagement, Gadgil’s work has greatly influenced public opinion and official policies on the protection of natural resources. He is renowned for his seminal work in the ecologically fragile Western Ghats region of India, which is a unique global biodiversity hotspot.
SEKEM, a sustainable agriculture initiative honoured in the Entrepreneurial Vision category, is helping farmers in Egypt transition to more sustainable agriculture. Its promotion of biodynamic agriculture plus afforestation and reforestation work has been transforming large swathes of desert into thriving agricultural business, advancing sustainable development across the country.
“Almost 40 per cent of the world’s land is already degraded, desertification is on the rise and devastating droughts are becoming more regular. The good news is that solutions already exist today, and around the world, extraordinary individuals and organizations are demonstrating that it is possible to defend and heal our planet,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP.
“The efforts of the 2024 Champions of the Earth stand tall as a reminder that the fight to protect our land, our rivers and our oceans is a fight we can win. With the right policies, scientific breakthroughs, system reforms, activism, as well as the vital leadership and wisdom of Indigenous Peoples, we can restore our ecosystems.”
