UNDP Equator Prize 2021

• 20 Jul 2021

The Equator Prize, organized by the Equator Initiative within the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is awarded biennially to recognize community efforts to reduce poverty through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

• 2021 Equator Prize awarded to 10 Indigenous and local solutions for people and planet.
• Two communities from India bagged this year’s prestigious UNDP Equator Prize, for their exceptional achievement in showcasing local, innovative, nature-based solutions for tackling biodiversity loss and climate change and achieving their local development goals.

The two winning organizations from India out of the ten winners globally are:

• Aadhimalai Pazhangudiyinar Producer Company Limited: This 1,700-member cooperative, managed and run entirely by Indigenous people from the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in Southern India, has improved livelihoods across 147 villages by processing and marketing a diverse range of forest produce and crops.
• Snehakunja Trust: Snehakunja Trust has protected sensitive wetland and coastal ecosystems in the Western Ghats and the Karnataka coast for 45 years. Restoring 375 hectares of mangroves, Snehakunja Trust is currently piloting the first blue carbon project in India.