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Lu Qi, a Chinese scientist honoured in the Science and Innovation category, has worked in science and policy sectors for three decades helping China reverse degradation and shrink its deserts.

Gabriel Paun, a Romanian environmental defender honoured in the Inspiration and Action category, is the founder of NGO Agent Green, which has been helping save thousands of hectares of precious biodiversity in the Carpathians since 2009 by exposing the destruction and illegal logging of Europe’s last old growth forest.

SEKEM, a sustainable agriculture initiative honoured in the Entrepreneurial Vision category, will help more than 40,000 farmers in Egypt transition to more sustainable agriculture by 2025.

Sonia Guajajara, Brazil’s Minister of Indigenous Peoples honoured in the Policy Leadership category, has been advocating for Indigenous rights for more than two decades. Guajajara became Brazil’s first Minister of Indigenous Peoples and the country’s first female Indigenous minister in 2023.

Amy Bowers Cordalis, an Indigenous rights advocate honoured in the Inspiration and Action category, is using her legal expertise and passion for restoration to secure a better future for the Yurok tribe and the Klamath River in the United States.

Madhav Gadgil, an Indian ecologist honoured in the Lifetime Achievement category, has spent decades protecting people and the planet through research and community engagement.

People and organizations around the world are leading innovative and sustainable solutions to restore land, enhance drought resilience and halt desertification. The Champions of the Earth stand at the forefront, offering hope and inspiration that restoration is possible. They remind us that safeguarding the envrionment is key to achieving sustainable development.

Born in the Amazon rainforest, Sonia Guajajara never expected she would one day make history as the first-ever Indigenous woman to become a minister in Brazil.But that is what happened in January 2023, when President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva appointed Guajajara as Minister of Indigenous Peoples. Guajajara, 50, is the first person to hold that role.

The SEKEM story begins in the Egyptian desert with a tent, a tractor and a piano.In 1977, the initiative’s founder, Ibrahim Abouleish, returned to Egypt after 20 years working abroad in chemistry and pharmacology.

Indian ecologist Madhav Gadgil learned from a young age the importance of respecting the rights of the least fortunate.

Amid the rolling sand dunes and jagged stone pillars of China’s Ulan Buh Desert, hundreds of scientists are gathered at the Desert Forestry Experimental Centre.

Gabriel Paun doesn’t know how he’s survived this long.The 47-year-old Romanian environmental defender has been assaulted, stalked, threatened and driven off the road. After years of cataloguing illegal logging in Romania’s national forests, he says he has a bounty on his head.

An attorney and member of California’s Indigenous Yurok Tribe, Amy Bowers Cordalis has spent decades striving to restore the natural flow of the Klamath River in the United States.

  Alkalde ng Lungsod ng Quezon Matapos hagupitin ng Bagyong Ondoy (Ketsana) ang Kalakhang Maynila noong 2009, nabuo ang paninindigan ni Josefina “Joy” Belmonte, na noo’y bise-alkalde ng Lungsod ng Quezon, na pangangalagaan ang kalikasan.

José Manuel Moller (Chile), honoured in the Entrepreneurial Vision category, is the founder of Algramo, a social enterprise dedicated to providing refill services that reduce plastic pollution and lower the costs of everyday essentials.

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (South Africa), honoured in the Science and Innovation category, uses cutting-edge technology and multidisciplinary research to develop innovations to tackle plastic pollution and other issues.

Mayor Josefina Belmonte of Quezon City, Philippines, honoured in the Policy Leadership category, is driving environmental and social action through a raft of policies to combat the climate crisis, end plastic pollution and green the urban enclave.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation (United Kingdom), honoured in the Inspiration and Action category, has played a leading role in mainstreaming a lifecycle approach, including for plastics.

Blue Circle (China), honoured in the Entrepreneurial Vision category, uses blockchain technology and the internet of things to track and monitor the full lifecycle of plastic pollution – from collection to regeneration, re-manufacturing and re-sale. It has collected over 10,700 tonnes of marine debris, making it China’s largest marine plastic waste programme.

People around the world are stepping forward with innovative ways to end plastic pollution and improve the health of the planet. The Champions of the Earth are leading that push. They give us hope that solutions to plastic pollution exist and remind us that safeguarding nature is key to achieving sustainable development.