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If a picture is worth a thousand words, for Maria Kolesnikova, this year’s Champion of the Earth for Entrepreneurial Vision, a picture was worth starting a movement.

Nemonte Nenquimo leads the Waorani people living in Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest. In 2019, the Waorani won a legal victory to protect half-a-million acres of rainforest from oil drilling, setting a precedent for regional indigenous rights. She co-founded Ceibo Alliance to unite indigenous communities in protecting their lands and livelihood.

Dr. Fabian Leendertz is a recognized world authority on primate diseases and zoonotic disease specialist. Dr. Leendertz examined the emergence and persistence of pathogens such as Ebola and Anthrax in wildlife and what these and other infectious diseases mean for great apes and humans.

Known as “the man who stopped the desert”, Yacouba Sawadogo from Burkina Faso has been working since the early 1980's to turn barren land into forest in the Sahel. By modifying the Zaï technique, he teaches farmers to regenerate their soil with innovative use of indigenous and local knowledge.

Fiji’s Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama, has been consistently advocating and raising the alarm about the dangerous consequences of climate change and the vulnerability of Pacific countries. Under his leadership, Fiji was the first country to ratify the Paris Agreement. Fiji aims to have zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Known as the “Father of Environmental Justice”, Professor Robert D. Bullard is a scholar, activist and leader of the environmental justice movement. Through extensive research and advocacy, he has served as a catalyst of environmental racism for four decades.

Mindy Lubber is the CEO and President of Ceres since 2003. Ceres' mobilizes the most influential investors and companies and makes the business case for climate action and sustainability. In 2015, Lubber helped catalyze the necessary business support to get the historic Paris Agreement across the finish line.

The 2020 Champions of the Earth are part of a legacy of people whose effective action led to the environmental victories that have transformed our societies for the better.

Next month, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will announce the award of the United Nations’ top environmental honour to the 2021 Champions of the Earth.

Nemonte Nenquimo has spent years fending off miners, loggers and oil companies intent on developing the Amazon rainforest.

The Escazú Agreement, which will enter into force on Earth Day, April 22, 2021, promotes environmental democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean and includes obligations for the signatory countries regarding the protection of environmental defen

The UN Environment Programme’s Champions of the Earth Award honours individuals, groups and organizations whose actions have a transformative impact on the environment.

The Young Champions of the Earth prize is awarded every year to seven entrepreneurs under the age of 30 with bold ideas for sustainable environmental change. The seven winners, hailing from different regions around the world, receive

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres shares his message of support for the 2020 Champions of the Earth, the UN’s highest environmental honour, and Young Champions of the Earth, UN

On 11 December 2020, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) announced six laureates of the 2020

In the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, 19th century English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge warned of a world where there was “water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink”.

The Champions of the Earth award is the UN’s highest environmental honour, annually recognizing outstanding leaders from government, civil society and the private sector The Champions of the Earth inspire, defend, mobilize and act to

The 2020 Champions of the Earth are part of a legacy of people whose effective action led to the environmental victories that have transformed our societies for the better.  By showcasing news of the significant work being done on the environmental frontlines, the Champions of the Earth awards aim to inspire and motivate more people to act for nature.

Nemonte Nenquimo didn’t ask to be a celebrity, not to become friends with Oscar-winner Leonardo DiCaprio, nor to be named by Time magazine as one of the most influential people in the world.