Green achievers from
Bangladesh to New Zealand will be honoured
at international award ceremony in April
in Singapore
Nairobi, 28 January
2008- From protecting the unique biodiversity
of Yemen's islands to piloting climate-proofing
strategies in Sudan and boosting conservation
in Barbados, the 2008 Champions of the Earth
are making their mark across the planet.
Prince Albert II of
Monaco, former US Senator Timothy E. Wirth
and New Zealand's Prime Minister Helen Clark
-whose country will host World Environment
Day this year with the theme" Kick
the Habit: Towards a Low Carbon Economy!"
-are among the seven environmental achievers
chosen for this year's awards, the United
Nations Environment Programme announced
today.
The Champions of the
Earth prize, which will be given out at
a ceremony in Singapore on 22 April, recognizes
individuals from each region of the world
who have shown extraordinary leadership
on environmental issues.
The other 2008 Champions
of the Earth are: Balgis Osman-Elasha, a
senior researcher at Sudan's Higher Council
for Environment & Natural Resources;
Atiq Rahman, the Executive Director of the
Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies;
Liz Thompson, the former Energy and Environment
Minister of Barbados; and Abdul-Qader Ba-Jammal,
the Secretary General of the Yemen People's
General Congress.
All the winners have
spearheaded outstanding initiatives in many
different areas from environmental policy
to cutting-edge research, with a particular
focus on sustainable development and the
fight against climate change.
The announcement comes
on the eve of the 10th Special Session of
the UNEP Governing Council, which will bring
together over one hundred ministers from
around the world in Monaco on 20-22 February.
This year's Governing Council will also
focus on the urgent challenge of climate
change -specifically, the issue of mobilizing
finance to realize a low carbon world.
Achim Steiner, the UN
Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive
Director said: "Today, we face environmental
challenges of unprecedented magnitude. More
than ever, our planet needs committed leaders
and achievers like the 2008 Champions of
the Earth who spur real, positive change
and fuel innovative solutions to environmental
problems. In doing so, these inspirational
individuals demonstrate not only that action
and different development paths are possible
but also the abundant opportunities arising
as a result of a transformation towards
a green economy."
2008 Champions of the
Earth
UNEP SPECIAL PRIZE
Rt. Hon. Helen Clark
By setting a carbon
neutral goal for New Zealand, Prime Minister
Helen Clark has put her country at the forefront
of today's environmental challenges. Three
major policy initiatives launched by Miss
Clark are also blazing new trails for sustainability
and the fight against climate change: the
Emissions Trading Scheme; the Energy Strategy;
and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation
Strategy.
Miss Clark's policies
champion renewable energy and energy efficiency
across key sectors of the economy. Her government
is also achieving substantial work on environmental
protection, from forestry and agriculture
to improving public awareness and boosting
private sector involvement in sustainability.
New Zealand will be
hosting this year's World Environment Day
- one of the principal vehicles through
which the United Nations stimulates worldwide
awareness of the environment and enhances
political attention and action. The event
will take place on 5 June 2008 with the
slogan "Kick the Habit! Towards a Low
Carbon Economy".
AFRICA
Dr. Balgis Osman-Elasha
Dr. Balgis Osman-Elasha,
a senior scientist from Sudan, is at the
forefront of global research on climate
change. A leading author of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports,
she has produced groundbreaking work on
global warming - the defining challenge
of our era - in Africa, with an emphasis
on northern and eastern Africa.
Dr. Osman-Elasha's emphasis on global warming
and adaptation in Sudan is vital given the
strong interlinkages between climate change
and conflict in the country. Her work as
a prominent researcher on climate change
makes her a true role model for women in
Africa.
The award also recognizes
Dr. Osman-Elasha's efforts to educate Sudanese
university students about the issue of climate
change, thus raising awareness among the
country's new generation.
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
Dr. Atiq Rahman
Dr. Atiq Rahman is an
eloquent advocate for sustainable development
from Bangladesh- a country highly vulnerable
to climate change and flooding. As one of
the top specialists in his field, the Executive
Director of the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced
Studies (BCAS) transformed the NGO into
a leading think-tank in South Asia on sustainable
development issues.
Dr. Rahman's extensive
publications on the subjects of environment
and development in Bangladesh are a reference
for his peers, and he has also developed
an innovative post-graduate course on sustainable
development and North-South dialogue.
With his national and
international experience in environment
and resource management, Dr. Rahman's expertise
remains vital throughout the Asia Pacific
region and beyond as he helps to raise awareness
of the hazards of global warming.
EUROPE
H.S.H. Prince Albert
II of Monaco
One of Prince Albert
II's first acts as sovereign of Monaco was
to sign the Kyoto Protocol - an eloquent
sign of his longstanding commitment to the
environment. Prince Albert has been a prominent
voice on environmental issues since the
early 11000s and he has been strongly involved
in raising awareness on climate change,
leading an expedition to the North Pole
in 2006 to draw attention to the consequences
of global warming.
The Prince Albert II
of Monaco Foundation, which he created in
2006, works actively on protecting the environment
and promoting sustainable development, with
a focus on biodiversity loss, water and
the fight against climate change. Prince
Albert is also a patron of the Billion Tree
Campaign, which successfully led to the
planting of well over a billion trees across
the planet in 2007.
Prince Albert has also
shown remarkable commitment to sustainable
development on his home turf of Monaco.
Under his leadership, Monaco is now applying
an exemplary policy on CO2 reduction in
every sphere of society as well as in the
business sector.
LATIN AMERICA AND THE
CARIBBEAN
H. E. Liz Thompson
Ms. Thompson has become
one of the recognized leaders on environmental
issues of the Small Island Developing States.
During her time as Minister
of Energy and the Environment of Barbados,
she enacted a range of progressive policies
for sustainable development and environmental
protection. She also became a key voice
to raise awareness of global warming in
Barbados - a country where the challenges
of climate change and conservation are of
particular relevance.
Ms. Thompson has also
played a role in environmental awareness
and protection across the Caribbean region.
She has encouraged small island states to
diversify their economies, undertake sustainability
assessments, and promote community-based
programmes that have positive environmental
impacts.
NORTH AMERICA
Timothy E. Wirth
For the last thirty
years, Timothy E. Wirth has been an advocate
for environmental issues in the United States.
As the president of the United Nations Foundation
and Better World Fund, Mr. Wirth has established
the environment as a key priority and is
mobilizing strong resources to address crucial
issues from biodiversity to climate change
and renewable energy.
A strong supporter of
the Kyoto Protocol, Mr. Wirth was instrumental
in raising awareness and calling for policy
action on global warming during his time
as US Undersecretary of State for Global
Affairs.
Mr. Wirth was also a
steadfast advocate on environmental issues
during his time as a member of the US Senate,
when he engaged in a number of conservation
and natural resource issues in his state
of Colorado. Mr. Wirth authored the Colorado
Wilderness Bill as well as other successful
legislation on energy, conservation and
environmental protection.
WEST ASIA
H.E. Abdul-Qader Ba-Jammal
Mr. Ba-Jammal has had
a truly pioneering influence on environmental
protection in Yemen - a country which faces
acute challenges from water scarcity to
desertification. During his time as Minister
and then Prime Minister, he established
Yemen's Ministry of Water and Environment
and Environment Protection Authority, solicited
national and international funding for environmental
conservation and sustainable water management,
and implemented a series of groundbreaking
environmental policies in Yemen and its
region.
Mr. Ba-Jammal also orchestrated
conservation efforts for the Socotra archipelago,
a site of global importance for biodiversity.
The Socotra conservation fund came into
being under his patronage, and the archipelago
was listed as a UNESCO Man and Biosphere
reserve in 2003.
Among other achievements,
Mr. Ba-Jammal also supported the declaration
of several marine and land protected areas
in Yemen and established a state agency
for the development of Yemeni islands with
a focus on marine resources conservation.
Along with Mr. Ba-Jammal's work on Yemen's
water sector, all these projects serve as
key examples of environmental awareness
in a region where water and conservation
issues are of vital importance - increasingly
so in a climate-constrained world.
Notes to editors
Champions of the Earth
is an international environment award established
in 2004 by the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP). The annual prize rewards
individuals from around the globe who have
made a significant and recognized contribution
globally, regionally and beyond, to the
protection and sustainable management of
the Earth's environment and natural resources.
Candidates are judged by a senior UNEP panel
with input from UNEP's regional offices.
Past Champions of the
Earth winners include among others: Ms.
Massoudeh Ebtekar, the former Vice President
of Iran; H.E. Mikhail Gorbachev of the Russian
Federation; H.R.H. Prince Hassan Bin Talal
of Jordan; Jacques Rogge and the International
Olympic Committee; and Al Gore, the former
Vice President of the United States.
The Champions of the
Earth are invited to accept their award
at an international ceremony which will
be held in Singapore on 22 April 2008. The
event will be hosted in conjunction with
the Business for the Environment Summit
(B4E), details of which can be found on
the UNEP website.
No monetary reward is
attached to the prize -each laureate receives
a trophy made of recycled metal especially
designed by the Kenyan sculptor Kioko and
representing the fundamental elements for
life on earth: sun, air, land and water.
Background on
the Champions of the Earth award and all
the laureates can be found at www.unep.org/champions
or from UNEP's communications division at
championsoftheearth@unep.org.
UNEP's 10th Special Session of the Governing
Council /Global Ministerial Environment
Forum will take place at the Principality
of Monaco on 20-22 February 2008. More information
can be found at http://www.unep.org/gc/gcss-x/
For information on World Environment Day
2008, please visit http://www.unep.org/wed/2008/english/About_WED_2008/index.asp
Nick Nuttall, UNEP Spokesperson
Anne-France White, Associate Information
Officer
