Equator Initiative Mandate

The Equator Initiative is designed to reduce poverty through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in the equatorial belt by fostering, supporting and strengthening community partnerships.

The world's greatest concentration of biological wealth is found in tropical developing countries that are beset by acute poverty. In these regions, the loss of biodiversity is accelerating as poverty is increasing.

There are many ingenious and effective ways through which indigenous and other local communities are rising to these challenges.
Unfortunately, their innovations remain largely unknown. Whether for food, medicine, or income generation, these groups are using their biological resources in a sustainable way to improve livelihoods.

The Equator Initiative seeks to promote a worldwide movement to reduce poverty and conserve biodiversity through the recognition of local achievements, the fostering of South-South capacity building, and by contributing to the generation and sharing of knowledge for policy impact through publications, radio, television and the Internet.

Equator Prize 2004 – Call for Nominations

The call for nominations for the Equator Prize 2004 was announced on 5 June 2003 at celebrations of World Environment Day in Berlin. The 2004 Equator Prize will focus global attention on local success stories. Six outstanding grassroots initiatives from throughout the equatorial belt will each receive the US$30,000 prize. The 25 prize finalists will also be given a chance to share the lessons of their experience with the wider world. The pool of nominees will together form an elite cadre of development practitioners with the ability to effect real change.

See www.EquatorInitiative.org

Equator Prize 2002 - Winners Announced

27 FINALISTS FOR THE EQUATOR PRIZE 2002

After an extensive process of evaluation, the Equator Initiative's Technical Advisory Committee selected an exceptional subset of initiatives from the pool of 420 nominations from 77 Equator Belt nations.

Representatives of each of the 27 communities were invited to attend the World Summit and participate in the "Community Kraal" at the Ubuntu Village, hosted by the Equator Initiative and other partners.

On August 30th, 2002 seven outstanding communities received the Equator Prize 2002 at an international awards ceremony at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg.

The first Equator Initiative Awards recognized five initiatives that exemplify extraordinary accomplishments in poverty reduction through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in the equatorial belt. Each of the five initiatives received a monetary award of US $30,000, a certificate of recognition and a trophy.

Since sustainable development is built on successful partnerships, the Equator Initiative Awards also recognized partnerships between communities and non-governmental organizations, the private sector, government and other groups. Additionally special recognition prize was accorded to a World Heritage site for the successful integration of conservation and sustainable livelihoods.

AFRICA

• Support Group for Conservation and Sustainable Development Initiatives (CACID) - Cameroon
• Mohéli Marine Park - Comores
• Honey Care Africa Ltd. - Kenya
• Il Ngwesi Group Ranch - Kenya
• Association of Manambolo Natives (FITEMA) - Madagascar
• HASHI Soil Conservation Project - Tanzania
• Suledo Forest Community - Tanzania

ASIA AND PACIFIC

• Fiji Locally-Managed Marine Area Network - Fiji
• Medicinal Plants Conservation Centre - India
• Kerala Kani Samudaya Kshema Trust - India
• Tribal Communities of the Jeypore Tract of Orissa - India
• Uma Bawang Resident's Association (UBRA) - Malaysia
• CBIRD Center, Sub Tai - Thailand

LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN

• Toledo Institute for Development and Environment (TIDE) - Belize
• Associação Vida Verde da Amazônia (AVIVE) - Brazil
• Bolsa Amazonia - Brazil
• Cananéia Oyster Producers Co-operative - Brazil
• Couro Vegetal da Amazônia Project - Brazil
• Inter-institutional Consortium for Sustainable Agriculture on Hillsides / River Cabuyal Watershed Users Association (CIPASLA - ASOBESURCA) - Colombia
• Empresa Forestal Integral de Bayamo - Cuba
• Organización Manejo Y Conservación, S. C. / WCS-Guatemala - Guatemala
• Café de la Selva - Mexico
• Programa de Campesino a Campesino, Siuna (PCaC) - Nicaragua
• Ese'eja Native Community of Infierno - Peru

WORLD HERITAGE SITES

• Iniciativa Talamanca - Costa Rica
• Asociación de Comunidades Forestales de Petén (ACOFOP) - Guatemala
• Mosquitia Pawisa Agency for the Development of the Honduran Mosquitia (MOPAWI ) - Honduras

Contact:

Equator Initiative

Environmentally Sustainable Development Group
Bureau for Development Policy

United Nations Development Programme
One UN Plaza
New York, NY 10017, USA

Tel: 1 212 906 6206
Fax: 1 212 906 6973
E-mail: EquatorInitiative@undp.org
Web: www.EquatorInitiative.org

Press Contact:

RLM Public Relations Inc.
Tel: 1.212.741.5106, ext 17
E-mail: equator@rlmpr.com