UNDP Honours Local and Indigenous Activists

  •  united nations
  • Inter Press Service

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) honoured 25 local and indigenous community groups from the developing world with Equator prizes for outstanding work in biodiversity conservation, poverty reduction and adaptation to climate change on Monday. The event was hosted in collaboration with the American Museum of Natural History, Conservation International, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), The Nature Conservancy and the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Indonesian born French singer and songwriter Anggun, also a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador, told IPS she feels it is important to stand up for the poor in her country as the government is corrupt. 'We don't live alone. We can all do something and not aggravate the planet.' 'There are close to a billion people suffering from hunger still,' she noted.

Peter Seligman, Chairman and CEO of Conservation International, told IPS that he was there to provide 'core bottom-line support'. He said, 'Biodiversity is about humanity and nature. We have an onus to take care of it.' The Equator prize is awarded by the Equator Initiative which is a United Nations led partnership that works to raise the profile of grassroots efforts in biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation.

Timothy Wirth, President of United Nations Foundation and Better World Fund, introduced a new initiative during his address called the Community Based Adaptation Program or Partnership. Unlike the Equator Initiative, the Community Based Adaptation Partnership will work in collaboration with small government programs, as well as the UNDP to attempt to develop templates around the world. These templates in turn would be replicated and scaled to fit different geographic regions.

© Inter Press Service (2010) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service