The 2008 Equator Prize Award Ceremony was held at Palo Alto, a former warehouse transformed into a fashionable reception space, in Barcelona, Spain on October 6th during the IUCN World Conservation Congress.

The evening honored the 25 community winners of the Equator Prize 2008; local experts that have demonstrated outstanding work in poverty reduction through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

Guests were greeted at an outdoor reception in the garden of Palo Alto. Charles McNeill, Senior Policy Advisor, EEG, UNDP welcomed everyone and introduced Mark Tercek, CEO of The Nature Conservancy, who expressed his appreciation for the work of the Equator Initiative and his gratitude that distinguished guests, including HRH Prince Albert II of Monaco and Ted Turner, Founder and Chairman of the United Nations Foundation and 2008 Equator Prize Jury Member were able to attend the event.

The dinner included a keynote speech by Ted Turner and speeches by Veerle Vandeweerd, Director of the Environment & Energy Group at UNDP; Brett Jenks, President & Chief Executive Office of RARE Conservation; Russell Mittermeier, President of Conservation International; Kathy Calvin Bushkin, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the United Nations Foundation; Sara Scherr, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ecoagricultural Partners; and Poul Engberg-Pedersen, Director General of the Norwegian Agency for Development Co-operation. The real guests of honor, however, were the communities.

A short video highlighted the accomplishments of the Equator Prize 2008 winners and showcased video footage from several of the communities.

Past Equator Prize winners shared some of the long-term benefits of receiving the award and presented certificates to 2008 winners from their respective regions (Asia and the Pacific, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean). For the five communities receiving “special recognition”, distinguished guests and partners were brought on stage to announce the winners and present trophies. The “special recognition” communities, who received an additional monetary award, were:

Africa: The Wechiau Community Hippo Sanctuary (WCHS) of Ghana

Asia and the Pacific: The Community Development Centre (CDC) of Sri Lanka

Latin America and the Caribbean: The Artisans Association of Arbolsol and Huaca de Barro of the Morrope District of Peru

Adaptation to Climate Change: The Indonesian Community-Based Marine Management Foundation (PLKL) of Indonesia

Agricultural Biodiversity: The Union of Farming and Indigenous Organizations of Cotacachi (UNORCAC) of Ecuador

Veerle Vandeweerd closed the evening with a call for ongoing support to local level best practice in biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction. She expressed her appreciation for the presence of all the distinguished guests and wished the communities success in tackling common challenges and in finding common solution during their time at the Community Poble and the wider IUCN World Conservation Congress.

“Special recognition” community biographies, as well as those of the 25 winners, are available here.

Video clips from the evening