The Equator Initiative is a partnership that brings together the
United Nations, civil society, business, governments and communities
to help build the capacity and raise the profile of grassroots
efforts to reduce poverty through the conservation and sustainable
use of biodiversity.
A simple fact lies at the heart of the Equator
Initiative's work: the world's greatest concentrations of biological
wealth are found in the tropics, in countries that also have
some of the highest levels of poverty. The good news is that
communities are charting a path toward sustainability, creatively
using biological resources for food, medicine, shelter and improved
livelihoods in ways that raise incomes and protect the environment.
The Equator Initiative champions and supports community efforts
to link economic development and income generation with the conservation
and sustainable use of biodiversity.
The Equator Initiative's work is organized around
four themes:
The
Equator Prize is a prestigious international award
that recognizes outstanding local efforts to reduce poverty
through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
An innovative programme of community and local-global dialogues,
learning exchanges and meetings, Equator
Dialogues celebrate local successes, share experiences
and inform policy. Equator
Knowledge is a comprehensive research and learning
initiative dedicated to synthesizing lessons from local conservation
and poverty reduction practice. Equator
Ventures is a unique investment program focused
on blended finance and capacity development for biodiversity
enterprises in the most biodiversity-rich locations of the
world. |
