Announcing the Equator Prize 2019 Winners

22 communities honored for local, innovative, nature-based climate solutions

The Equator Initiative is pleased to announce the winners of the Equator Prize 2019. Each of the 22 winners represents outstanding community and indigenous initiatives that are advancing nature-based solutions for climate change and local sustainable development.

Following a global call for nominations, the Equator Initiative received 847 nominations from 127 countries around the world. An extensive, four-stage peer-review process guided by our Technical Advisory Committee of international experts was undertaken over the last several months. Winners will be celebrated at a high-level award ceremony in New York on 24 September 2019.

Please find below summaries on each of the Equator Prize 2019 winners. Hover over the organization name for a description of the initiative.

Meet the winners

EP Winners 2019

Sub-Saharan Africa

Yaeda Valley Project - Tanzania

In the Yaeda Valley of Tanzania, the 10,000-year-old hunter-gatherer Hadzabe tribe has safeguarded over 20,000 hectares of territory through a historic land tenure campaign coupled with an innovative carbon offset scheme, effective community monitoring, and inclusive governance.

Yaeda Valley Project - Tanzania

Environmental Management and Development Trust - Nigeria

Environmental Management and Development Trust supports a dynamic network of women promoting cacao agroforestry and the production of the so-called “miracle fruit” as an alternative to plastic for local markets in southwestern Nigeria.

Environmental Management and Development Trust - Nigeria

Solar Freeze - Kenya

In rural Kenya, this initiative is pioneering the production of portable solar cold rooms that reduce post-harvest losses of food grown primarily by women smallholder farmers by 90 percent, increase household incomes, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through food loss.

Solar Freeze - Kenya

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Latin America and the Caribbean

Ejecutor de Contrato de Administración de la Reserva Comunal Amarakaeri - Peru

Guardians of the largest Communal Reserve in Peru, this group demonstrates the power of indigenous-government co-management for climate change mitigation by successfully protecting 402,335 hectares of forest while providing alternative livelihoods to local communities.

Ejecutor de Contrato de Administración de la Reserva Comunal Amarakaeri - Peru

Ejecutor de Contrato de Administración Tuntanain - Peru

ECA Tuntanain brings together 23 indigenous groups and the Peruvian government to co-manage 94,967 hectares of forest in an impressive partnership that has increased local income 160 percent, protected the headwaters of three rivers essential for regional water security, reduced food insecurity, and fostered climate resilience.

Ejecutor de Contrato de Administración Tuntanain - Peru

Comunidades Nativas de Nuevo Saposoa y Patria Nueva de Mediación Callería - Peru

Harnessing innovative satellite and mobile phone technology for community-led monitoring, these two indigenous Shipibo Peruvian communities have secured rights to 15,000 hectares of ancestral lands and completely eliminated illegal deforestation.

Comunidades Nativas de Nuevo Saposoa y Patria Nueva de Mediación Callería - Peru

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Asociación de Productores Kemito Ene - Peru

A model for sustainable commodity supply chains worldwide, this indigenous social business enterprise has enabled 300 Asháninka families to break into the international market and directly export 90 tons of sustainably produced, organic cacao annually, while conserving their forests.

Asociación de Productores Kemito Ene - Peru

Fondo de Páramos Tungurahua y Lucha contra la Pobreza - Ecuador

In the mountains of Ecuador, this public-private-community partnership uses innovative financial mechanisms to conserve the paramo ecosystem, ensure water security, store carbon, and enhance the quality of life for indigenous communities.

Fondo de Páramos Tungurahua y Lucha contra la Pobreza - Ecuador

Conselho Indígena de Roraima - Brazil

In the Roraima state of Brazil, this indigenous alliance has secured rights to 1.7 million hectares of traditional land for 55,000 indigenous peoples while promoting ecological and social resilience through the conservation of traditional crop varieties.

Conselho Indígena de Roraima - Brazil

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Associação Indígena Kisêdjê - Brazil

Located in one of Brazil’s most deforested states, this association of Kisêdjê indigenous people has transformed the status quo by reclaiming their traditional lands and developing an innovative entrepreneurial model that uses the native pequi tree to restore landscapes, foster food security, and develop products for local and national markets.

Associação Indígena Kisêdjê - Brazil

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Asia and the Pacific

Indigenous Group of Dayak Iban Sungai Utik Long House - Indonesia

From their 214-metre long house in West Kalimantan, the Dayak Iban have protected an estimated 1.31 million tons of carbon in their 9,504-hectare customary forest. For decades they have fought against corporate interests, following the dictate that nature is more important than monetary wealth.

Indigenous Group of Dayak Iban Sungai Utik Long House - Indonesia

Tamil Resources Conservation Trust - Micronesia

As climate change impacts the communities and ecosystems of the Pacific, this organization fosters ridge-to-reef climate resilience through watershed-wide restoration, family farming, a community nursery, and systematic marine conservation planning.

Tamil Resources Conservation Trust - Micronesia

Deccan Development Society - India

In the Zaheerabad region of India, Deccan Development Society promotes women-led regenerative agriculture and community-seed banks to empower Dalit and tribal women, promote sustainable land use, and achieve food security.

Deccan Development Society - India

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Ser-Thiac - Vanuatu

The first indigenous-owned accredited forest carbon project in the Pacific Islands, Ser-Thiac has reduced approximately 15,000 tons of CO2 emissions to date and offers a powerful new model for carbon credits based on indigenous land rights, stewardship, and climate resilience.

Ser-Thiac - Vanuatu

Kasa Ghar Cluster CBO - Pakistan

By creating a successful value-added market model for Chilghoza pine nuts, this group has conserved 26,000 hectares of vulnerable forest in the Sulaiman Range of Pakistan and sustained the well-being of approximately 12,000 people from 100 villages.

Kasa Ghar Cluster CBO - Pakistan

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Global North

Hui Maka‘āinana o Makana - USA - Hawaii

This native Hawaiian grassroots initiative has woven together traditional, place-based knowledge and policy advocacy to sustainably manage their near-shore fisheries, resulting in the official designation of the first community co-managed fishery in the state of Hawai’i.

Hui Maka‘āinana o Makana - USA - Hawaii

Hui Mālama o Moʻomomi - USA - Hawaii

Hui Mālama o Moʻomomi, a native Hawaiian grassroots initiative on the island of Molokai, uses traditional ecological management practices such as the art of kilo and pono fishing to sustainably manage their nearshore fisheries in the face of climate change for generations to come.

Hui Mālama o Moʻomomi - USA - Hawaii

Yurok Tribe - USA - California

Forming an unprecedented alliance with the government of California to auction carbon credits from their sustainably managed forests through the state’s cap-and-trade program, the Yurok Tribe has secured new finance to purchase over 22,200 hectares of their ancestral lands.

Yurok Tribe - USA - California

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Dutjahn Sandalwood Oils Pty Ltd - Australia

An innovative partnership involving the Kutkabubba aboriginal community in Western Australia, Dutjahn Sandalwood Oils Pty Ltd promotes cultural identity and supports local livelihoods through the sustainable harvest of sandalwood oil for the global luxury perfume market.

Dutjahn Sandalwood Oils Pty Ltd - Australia

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Note: The boundaries shown and the designations used on the above map and included in lists, tables and documents on this website do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations.

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