Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. (SWoM) is an Indigenous women-led organization in Papua New Guinea that empowers local women to lead marine conservation by blending traditional knowledge with modern science and technology. Since 2018, SWoM has trained over 50 Indigenous women in reef monitoring, marine science, and leadership, enabling them to manage Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs) across 1,500 hectares of biodiverse coral reef habitat. Their efforts have restored ecosystems, formalized marine reserves, and involved more than 3,000 community members. By placing women at the forefront of conservation, conducting reef surveys, steering boats, and advocating for policy, SWoM is transforming gender norms, strengthening climate resilience, and advancing sustainable fisheries in over 15 villages. Recognized by the UN and Whitley Awards, SWoM is redefining global standards for inclusive, community-driven marine protection.

Read More

The Cooperativa de Mujeres Artesanas del Gran Chaco (COMAR) is a women-led cooperative that empowers over 2,600 Indigenous women from the Gran Chaco ecoregion in northern Argentina. Through its brand Matriarca, they transform traditional handicrafts into sustainable, high-value products for national and global markets. Founded in 2011, it organizes and commercializes the craft value chain using nature-based solutions that protect biodiversity, promote climate resilience, and foster inclusive, community-driven governance.

Read More

The Andenes de Cuyocuyo Agrobiodiversity Zone (ZABDAC) is Peru’s first officially recognized agrobiodiversity zone, a groundbreaking achievement led by six Quechua communities: Puna Ayllu, Ura Ayllu, Cojene Rotojoni, Puna Laqueque, Huancasayani Cumani, and Ñacoreque, located in the Puna region. This territory, home to over 3,000 people, includes the largest and most intricate system of ancient agricultural terraces in the southern Andes, stretching from 1,500 to 4,500 meters above sea level. Spanning more than 6,555 hectares, the zone protects a mosaic of highland ecosystems and conserves an extraordinary 1,281 native crop varieties. Through collective stewardship, these communities uphold sustainable farming practices, safeguard biodiversity, and ensure the intergenerational transmission of ancestral knowledge that has sustained the Andean landscape for centuries.

Read More

Fundación Hakhu Amazonía is a youth- and women-led Indigenous organization at the forefront of defending the Amazon and the rights of its peoples from mining and other extractive threats. Founded in 2018, Hakhu supports Kichwa communities through political advocacy, decolonial education, grassroots media, and the Yuturi Warmi, an Indigenous women’s territorial guard that protects land and life. Through its social enterprise, Hakhu Amazon Design, the foundation also supports the economic autonomy of Kichwa women, promoting sustainable livelihoods rooted in cultural expression. With a focus on gender equity, climate justice, and Indigenous self-determination, Fundación Hakhu Amazonía stands as a powerful force for environmental protection, cultural resilience, and inclusive development across the Ecuadorian Amazon.

Read More

Founded in 2022, the Associação Uasei dos Povos Indígenas de Oiapoque unites four Indigenous Peoples in Amapá, Brazil, to build a pioneering bioeconomy model rooted in sustainability, cultural preservation, and economic autonomy. Uasei disrupts exploitative middlemen in the açaí trade by creating an Indigenous-controlled value chain. Blending traditional ecological knowledge with modern techniques, they sustainably manage native açaí groves, protecting biodiversity while ensuring livelihoods. Uasei established Amapá’s first agroindustry on Indigenous land, producing pulp, lyophilized powder, and soon ice cream, capturing greater market value. Their Empório Uasei storefront promotes artisanal crafts and açaí products, boosting cultural visibility and tourism. Operating with democratic governance and strong participation from women and youth, Uasei exemplifies how an Indigenous-led bioeconomy can generate income, protect ecosystems, and strengthen cultural identity.

Read More

Call for nominations to the Equator Prize 2025 Nominate now!   Equator Prize 2025: Nature for Climate Action This year’s Equator Prize will recognize innovative initiatives that showcase how action on nature, led by Indigenous Peoples and local communities, can provide effective climate solutions, and demonstrate effective pathways to transform our global systems for people and Planet. Winning initiatives will be honored for their successes in protecting, restoring, and/or sustainably managing nature for nature-positive development outcomes.  Thematic priorities include: Nature for Climate Mitigation, Adaptation and Resilience. Actions to protect, conserve, and restore forests, mangroves, peatlands, soils, oceans, and marine ecosystems, as well as actions to build climate-resilient food systems and develop regenerative agriculture and forestry practices to adapt to climate change. These include actions to:  Maintain intact ecosystems as they sequester better; forests, mangroves, peatlands, and soils are the greatest natural carbon stores;  Uphold Indigenous Peoples’ land tenure, governance, rights, and Traditional knowledge, as they are essential to protect forests and key ecosystems;  Achieve forest protection through participatory monitoring and large-scale mapping and spatial planning efforts;  Recognize and allow Indigenous land defenders and local youth activists to lead initiatives for climate mitigation, justice, and build community resilience to adapt to climate change;  Tackle water security, which is key for life, by protecting and restoring ecosystems critical to water resources at all levels, including continental;  Transform our food systems to be more climate-resilient, less carbon-intensive, and adaptable to climate change; and  Promote nature-based solutions to reduce the impacts of natural disasters, such as floods and droughts, by restoring and protecting key ecosystems.  Nature for a Just Transition. Actions to green the economy in a way that is as fair and inclusive as possible for all members of society, including Indigenous Peoples and local communities, while creating decent work opportunities and leaving no one behind. These efforts demonstrate how solutions led at the local-level can contribute to a global value shift, including an economic and financial shift. Harnessing circular economy and reusing materials to reduce the need for resource extraction and minimize pressure on wildlife and threats to biodiversity. Shaping a nature-positive future by rethinking business as usual as an opportunity to sustainably manage and regenerate nature and catalyze low-carbon economies. These include actions to:  Show that Indigenous Peoples and local communities can create and lead successful enterprises and bioeconomy models;  Prove that effective local green solutions can reduce inequalities, improve livelihoods, enhance responsible production and consumption, and create inclusive, resilient, and low-carbon economies, while also bringing health benefits;  Demonstrate that micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and Indigenous-led economies show viable solutions to climate and opportunities for nature regeneration and economic transformation;  Initiate new models of climate finance and funding mechanisms can be put in place to fund resilience, adaptation, and climate action; and  Respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights as essential to building a new sustainable and thriving economy.  Special consideration will be given to nominees championing youth and women-led climate action.  Local nature-based solutions for sustainable development  The Equator Prize 2025 nomination process offers community-based initiatives the opportunity to feature their work on the Equator Initiative’s Nature-Based Solutions Database, a web portal dedicated to local nature-based solutions for sustainable development. This platform connects communities around the world and shares local solutions that benefit both people and the Planet. Participation in this platform is optional when submitting nominations for the Equator Prize.    NOMINATE NOW

Read More

As the world gathered for the 2024 UN Biodiversity Conference (COP16) in Cali, Colombia, to address the mounting challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change, the voices of Indigenous Peoples (IPs), Afro-descendants and local communities (LCs) have never been more critical. These groups, represented at this event by the 2024 Equator Prize winners, are on the frontlines of climate resilience and local sustainable development.

Read More