普尼玛·德维·巴曼博士（Purnima Devi Barman）荣获今年的地球卫士商界卓识奖。她从小就对鹳鸟产生了亲近，后来这种鸟也成为了她的毕生所爱。
巴曼五岁的时候就被送到印度阿萨姆邦布拉，和她的祖母在马普特拉河畔一起生活。由于与父母和兄弟姐妹分离，她伤心欲绝。巴曼的祖母是个农民，为了分散她的注意力，祖母开始带她去附近的稻田和湿地，教导她关于当地鸟类的知识。
“我看到了鹳鸟和许多其他鸟类。祖母教我关于鸟儿的歌。她让我对着白鹭和鹳鸟歌唱。这让我喜欢上了鸟类。”野生生物学家巴曼说。巴曼职业生涯的大部分时间都致力于拯救濒临灭绝的大秃鹳，这是世界上第二稀有的鹳鸟物种。
一个数量不断减少的物种
现存的成熟大秃鹳不到1200头，还不足100年前的百分之一。这种种群的数量急剧下降，一部分是因为其自然栖息地遭到破坏。随着农村地区城市化步伐的加快，鹳鸟赖以繁衍生息的湿地不断遭到破坏、污染和退化，被建筑物、道路和移动电话塔所取代。湿地孕育了丰富多样的动植物生命，但由于人类活动和全球变暖，世界各地湿地正以超过森林三倍的速度流失。
人类与野生动物的冲突
在获得动物学硕士学位后，巴曼开始在大秃鹳领域攻读博士学位。但是，当她意识到许多曾陪伴她长大的鸟类已经不复存在，她决定把论文撰写的时间延后，把精力放在研究如何让鸟类存活下来。2007年，她开始了保护鹳鸟的运动，重点关注阿萨姆邦坎鲁普区内的鹳鸟最为集中、却又最不受欢迎的村庄。
在这个地区，鹳鸟因食用尸体、把动物尸骨运到树上筑巢（很多树木都是生长在当地居民的花园里）以及排放出气味难闻的排泄物而饱受非议。这种鸟类高约5英尺（1.5米），翼展可达8英尺（2.4 米），当地村民常常宁愿把后院的树都砍了，也不愿意让鹳鸟在里面筑巢。“这种鸟类完全被误解了。它们被当地人视为一种不祥之兆、霉运或疾病的载体。”巴曼表示，而她自己也曾因试图拯救鹳鸟的筑巢群居地而受到嘲笑。
根据世界野生动物基金会和联合国环境规划署 (UNEP)在2021年发布的一项报告，人类和野生动物之间的冲突已经构成野生动物面临的主要威胁之一。这种冲突可能对地球上所有生物赖以生存的生态系统产生不可逆转的影响。联合国生态系统恢复十年提供了一个动员全球社会重新平衡人类和自然关系的机会。
“Hargila Army”
巴曼了解，为了保护鹳鸟（阿萨姆当地居民把这种鸟叫做“hargila”，即“吞骨鸟”），她必须改变人们对鹳鸟的认知，因此她动员了一批农村妇女来协助她。
如今，“Hargila Army”组织已拥有超过1万名女性成员。她们负责保护鹳鸟的筑巢地点，照料从巢中坠落的受伤鹳鸟，并组织“新生儿派对”来庆祝雏鸟的出生。大秃鹳经常被写进民歌、诗词、节日和戏剧中。
巴曼也向当地妇女提供织机和纱线，支持她们创作并出售带有大秃鹳图案的纺织品。这个创业项目不但能让人们了解这种鸟类，也有助于女性获得经济独立，提高她们的生活水平，让她们在挽救鹳鸟的工作中获得一种自豪感和主人翁意识。
自巴曼的保护计划启动以来，坎鲁普区达达拉、帕查里亚和辛格马里村的鸟巢数目从28个增至250多个，目前已经是世界上最大的大秃鹳繁殖地。巴曼于2017年开始建造高耸的竹制筑巢平台，供这些濒危鸟类孵蛋。几年后，当这些实验平台上孵化出了第一只大秃鹳雏鸟时，她的努力终于得到了回报。
生态系统恢复
对巴曼来说，保护秃鹳就意味着保护和恢复它们的栖息地。Hargila Army 已经帮助许多社区在鹳鸟筑巢树和湿地周围种下 4.5万株树苗，以支撑将来的鹳鸟种群。她们打算明年再种植6万株。她们还在河岸和湿地开展清洁运动，以去除水中的塑料，减少污染。
“普尼玛·德维·巴曼开拓性的保护工作为成千上万的当地妇女赋权，让许多人开始创业，提高了她们的生活水平，同时帮助大秃鹳摆脱了濒临灭绝的危险。”环境署执行主任英格·安德森表示，“巴曼博士的工作表明，人类与野生动物之间的冲突可以得到妥善解决，从而实现共赢。她强调了湿地的丧失对在湿地上繁衍生息的物种产生的毁灭性冲击，提醒我们保护和恢复生态系统的重要性。”
在巴曼看来，她得到的最大回报之一就是 Hargila Army 组织中潜移默化的自豪感，她希望她们的成功可以激励下一代环保主义者追逐自己的梦想。“在一个男性主导的社会里，女性从事保护工作是一件非常有挑战的事情，但 Hargila Army 已经证明，女性也能够有所作为。”
塞西尔·比比安·恩杰贝特（Cécile Bibiane Ndjebet）在喀麦隆的一个偏远地区长大，对农村妇女经受的苦难深有体会。她看到母亲和其他人从早到晚地劳作，种植庄稼，喂养动物，抚育子女。由于传统社会文化习俗，许多女人在她们永远无法拥有的土地上艰苦地劳作。
“我当时意识到，女性非常辛苦，”恩杰贝特回忆道，“我想保护我的母亲，并为这些农村妇女争取权益，改善她们的生活。她们遭受着太多的苦难。”
这些早年的经历影响了恩杰贝特的一生。她将继续努力，成为非洲妇女土地权的主要代言人。三十年来，她一直倡导性别平等，同时也修复着数百公顷因为发展而遭到破坏的自然环境。其中包括600多公顷的退化土地和红树林，在她于2001年联合创立的“喀麦隆生态组织”的照看下，这600多公顷已经得到恢复。
为此，联合国环境规划署(UNEP)授予恩杰贝特“地球卫士”（激励与行动奖）称号，这是联合国最高级别的环保荣誉之一。
人类已经改造了地球上四分之三的旱地，以专家警告“不可持续”的速度砍伐森林，使得湿地干涸，河流受到污染。
恩杰贝特是修复自然损害运动的带头人之一。
她的愿景催生了喀麦隆生态组织的一个旨在培训妇女于2030年内恢复1000多公顷森林的项目。
自2009年以来，恩杰贝特还作为她联合创立的非洲妇女森林社区管理网络(REFACOF)的主席，带头在20个非洲国家促进森林管理中的性别平等。恩杰贝特在国内外进行的倡导工作的重点是，鼓励妇女权益在环境政策中得到更广泛的体现。
2012年，凭借在动员民间团体可持续管理森林方面发挥的领导作用，她当选中部非洲森林委员（Central African Commission on Forests）会气候变化卫士。恩杰贝特还是联合国生态系统恢复十年的一名顾问，这是一项旨在恢复退化景观的全球行动。
让森林保持活力
在撒哈拉以南的非洲地区，妇女几乎占到了农业劳动力的一半，因而可以在消除饥饿和贫困方面起到关键作用。然而，妇女——尤其是农村妇女——经常面临土地所有权的问题，或在丈夫死后继承土地时遇到麻烦。
尽管存在这种偏袒现象，在喀麦隆等国家，妇女正在继续保护森林生态系统。在喀麦隆，约70%的妇女生活在农村地区，依靠从森林中采集水果、坚果和草药来养家。
“女性真的在推动复兴。她们在退化地区造林，植树，开垦苗圃，从事复合农林业。就连从事畜牧生产的人也种了树。她们让森林保持活力，”恩杰贝特说。
REFACOF支持妇女团体在退化土地上和红树林中植树造林，在喀麦隆和其他成员国建苗圃和果园。这个组织还在努力说服村长允许妇女在沿海土地上植树，作为应对气候变化导致的海平面上升的缓冲措施。
通过更为广泛的、覆盖全大陆的倡导工作，REFACOF向20个国家的政府提出了森林政策的建议，以保障妇女在林业和自然资源管理领域的权利。
研究发现，如果农村妇女能够拥有和男子一样的获得土地、技术、金融服务、教育和市场的机会，她们农场的农产量可以增加20%至30%——这足以让生活发生巨大变化。
恩杰贝特说，当她问妇女们对联合国生态系统恢复十年有什么期待时，她们提到了三件事：承认和支持她们在恢复工作中发挥的作用，获取经费，以及知识共享。
恩杰贝特说，她受到了历代女性的引导——包括她的祖母、母亲和姐妹们。与肯尼亚环保活动家、第一位获得诺贝尔和平奖的非洲女性旺加里·马塔伊(Wangari Maathai)的相识，也给她留下了难以磨灭的印象，并从此影响了她的工作。
“她说，‘告诉非洲妇女，要像爱护自己的婴儿一样爱护环境。告诉她们，去种果树吧。果树会带来食物和钱，同时这些树也会扎下根来，造福环境和人类。
Quezon City Mayor Josefina “Joy” Belmonte’s commitment to environmental protection can be traced to the aftermath of the worst storm to hit the Philippines in decades.
When Typhoon Ketsana struck in 2009, it unleashed ferocious downpours and floods that submerged roads and forced residents onto their rooftops for refuge. As the floodwaters receded, they left a river of plastic bags, sachets and other litter in their wake.
That sight left a lasting impact on Belmonte, who successfully ran for vice mayor of Quezon City in 2009 before becoming its mayor in 2019.
“I'm a good governance advocate,” Belmonte told the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). “Good governance involves good stewardship of the environment.”
Only the second female mayor in the history of Quezon City, home to 3.1 million, Belmonte has pursued a raft of policies to end plastic pollution, counter climate change and green the city.
For her efforts to transform Quezon City into an environmental trailblazer, Belmonte has been named the 2023 Champion of the Earth for Policy Leadership, one of the UN’s highest environmental honours.
"Mayor Josefina Belmonte’s passionate leadership and policy achievements exemplify how local authorities can solve global environmental problems,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. “Cities can be the dynamic engines of change we need to overcome the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste – and mayors can help to lead that charge.
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Fighting the throwaway culture
Quezon City was the Philippines’ capital for 27 years until the title returned to Manila in 1976. Today, it is the country’s most populous city and is part of Metro Manila.
Belmonte’s connections to this place run deep. Not only was she born and raised here, but her father, Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte, was its ninth mayor.
Despite an early exposure to politics, Belmonte’s interests initially led her elsewhere – including to a career as an archaeologist. But in the end, the call to public service proved too strong.
“If you can be in a position where you can be a source of inspiration to others and become the root of positive change for millions of people, then it is worth it,” she said.
For Belmonte, positive change means prioritizing action on the environment to create a liveable, green and sustainable city.
Under Belmonte’s leadership, Quezon City has focused on reducing plastic pollution and extending the life of plastic products already in circulation.
“Plastic pollution is a major problem in the Philippines, as in many parts of the world, because of the throwaway culture,” Belmonte said. “Plastics clog our drainage systems and end up in the oceans. We know that plastic waste becomes microplastics that can be consumed in the food we eat, the air we breathe and even in the water we drink, which affects our health.”
Globally, humanity’s addiction to short-lived plastic products has created an environmental catastrophe . Around 19 to 23 million tonnes of plastic annually leaks into aquatic ecosystems, polluting lakes, rivers and seas. To stem that flow, experts say the world must fundamentally alter its relationship with plastic by using less of the material, eliminating single-use products, reusing what plastics are produced and finding environmentally friendly alternatives.
Under Belmonte, Quezon City has banned single-use plastic bags, cutlery, straws and containers in hotels, restaurants and fast-food chains for dine-in customers, as well as single-use packaging material.
Since 2021, residents have been able to trade in their recyclables and single-use plastic products for environmental points that can be used to buy food and pay electricity bills under the “Trash to Cashback” scheme. City authorities have even started a “Vote to Tote” programme to turn tarpaulins used in election campaigning into bags.
Still, millions of single-use plastic sachets are thrown away every day in the Philippines, which is a major source of ocean plastics. Though sachets allow households more affordable access to essentials for cooking, hygiene and sanitation, they cannot be recycled effectively, causing serious environmental harm, experts say.
“Sachet culture really gets to me. It really is something that makes me angry because it is there because we are a poor country,” Belmonte said. “Major manufacturers need to do their part and change the way they package products to make them more environmentally friendly.”
To combat plastic pollution, Belmonte launched in 2023 an initiative to help put refill stations for essentials, such as washing-up liquid and liquid detergent, in convenience stores across the city. With products that are often less expensive than their packaged counterparts, the stations have been received positively and will be piloted in over 6,000 stores next year, Belmonte said.
Last year, a historic UN resolution was passed to develop a legally binding international instrument to end plastic pollution. Belmonte has been vocal about the need for a “truly ambitious” global instrument.
“Mayors want to be part of the negotiating table because we have very practical experience to bring,” she said. “The real work is at the level of cities. We already know that when change happens at the level of cities, it happens much more rapidly.”
Earning trust
Under Belmonte, Quezon City has also developed an ambitious plan to reduce its carbon emissions by 30 per cent in 2030 and reach net-zero by 2050. It has declared a state of climate emergency to unlock spending, amounting to 11–13 per cent of the city’s annual budget, on programmes that mitigate the impacts of the climate crisis.
There are plans to double the number of parks in the city, introduce more electric buses and almost quadruple the network of bike lanes by 2030 to fight pollution. Other green initiatives include promoting urban farming and deploying equipment that allows community farms to transform organic waste into methane gas that can be used for cooking.
Although Belmonte has worked hard to forge her own path, she considers one piece of advice from her father to be priceless: “Always spend time with the people. Especially go to the poor communities, because when you go to the communities and you see how difficult life is for people in the grassroots, you'll never think of abusing power.”
It is advice that has shaped her political approach, helped her to build public trust and contributed to her popularity among voters. She was re-elected mayor in 2022 and regularly scores the highest approval ratings among metro Manila’s mayors.
“People will buy into your vision if you value what they have to say. That is the best way to get all of our environmental issues across,” Belmonte said.
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About the UNEP Champions of the Earth
The United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP)Champions of the Earth honours individuals and organizations whose actions have a transformative impact on the environment. The annual Champions of the Earth award is the UN’s highest environmental honour. #EarthChamps
About the #BeatPollution campaign
To fight the pervasive impact of pollution on society, UNEP launched #BeatPollution , a strategy for rapid, large-scale and coordinated action against air, land and water pollution. The strategy highlights the impact of pollution on climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and human health. Through science-based messaging, the campaign showcases how transitioning to a pollution-free planet is vital for future generations.
Ellen MacArthur was only 24 when she secured a place in the history books by becoming the youngest person to sail solo around the world in 2001. Four years later, she broke the record for the fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe, taking just over 71 days to complete the voyage.
Her account of battling squally gales, skirting icebergs and narrowly avoiding a collision with a whale enthralled millions. The mental and physical exertion of sailing, the freedom of the high seas, the thrill of being immersed in the breathtaking power and beauty of the ocean were all MacArthur ever dreamed of.
Then, at the peak of her career, she retired from competitive sailing and changed course entirely.
Time spent alone at sea, surviving on limited supplies of food, water and fuel, had given MacArthur an acute awareness of what it meant to live with finite means. She saw a parallel with humanity, which was consuming beyond what the Earth could provide.
“You cannot use up finite resources in a world with a growing population. It just cannot work,” MacArthur told the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). “We need to rethink and redesign our entire economic model.”
In 2010, the trailblazer set up the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to rally support for a more circular global economy focused on eliminating waste and pollution – including from plastics –promoting the reuse of products and materials, and regenerating nature.
For its efforts, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation has been named 2023 Champion of the Earth for Inspiration and Action, one of the United Nations’ highest environmental honours.
“We need a systemic transformation to address the plastic pollution crisis,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. “The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has been instrumental in engaging businesses and decision makers, enabling large-scale solutions that can steer us toward a future unblighted by plastic pollution.”
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From a straight line to a circle
Since the launch of its first report in 2012 at the World Economic Forum gathering in Davos, Switzerland, the foundation has radically shifted the discourse of some of the most powerful global corporations and helped governments understand the changes needed to create more sustainable economies.
It has spearheaded global initiatives on plastics, fashion and food, while creating a network of business leaders, policymakers and academics to pilot sustainable practices. This year, it launched the Circular Startup Index, a public database featuring more than 500 start-ups accelerating the transition to a circular economy. The foundation has also helped to develop the curriculum for the first-ever Master of Business Administration focused on this model.
Today, 430 million tonnes of plastic are produced every year, two-thirds of which quickly becomes waste. Plastic pollution causes between US$300 billion and US$600 billion a year in social and economic costs and has precipitated what has been called an environmental catastrophe by UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
When the Ellen MacArthur Foundation was launched in 2010, few were talking about plastic pollution.
In 2016, the foundation produced the first big global study on plastic packaging. Its findings, which immediately captured headlines around the world, were a wake-up call. The report concluded that most plastic packaging is used only once and that 95 per cent of the value of plastic packaging material, worth a staggering US$80 billion to US$120 billion annually, is lost to the economy.
A follow-up report in 2017 showed that, without fundamental redesign and innovation, about 30 per cent of plastic packaging will never be reused or recycled.
“Plastics are very high volume, low value. They are the ultimate linear economy example,” MacArthur said. “If we really want to shift from a linear to circular economy, then this is a really good place to start.”
By 2040, a shift to a lifecycle approach could reduce the volume of plastics entering the environment by over 80 per cent, slash virgin plastic production by 55 per cent and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 per cent. Redesigning how humanity produces, uses, recovers and disposes of plastic could also save US$4.5 trillion by 2040.
In collaboration with UNEP, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation leads the New Plastics Economy; Global Commitment. It unites more than 1,000 organizations – including consumer goods giants such as H&M, PepsiCo and the Coca-Cola Company – as well as governments representing 1 billion people behind a common vision to stop plastic from becoming waste.
Lessons and data from the Global Commitment offer valuable insights as negotiators push for an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution by 2024.
A third round of negotiations on the instrument’s draft document is due to start in Nairobi on 13 November. Observers say the final instrument could be the most significant multilateral environmental pact since the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.
For the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the deal must prioritize the shift from single-use to reusable plastic products.
Discussing the future, MacArthur hopes that the lifecycle approach will one day be so normal that the foundation will no longer be needed.
“One thing that ocean racing and record-breaking teaches you is the importance of the goal,” MacArthur said. “You have to be driven, and you have to understand exactly where you're trying to get. I see the circular economy as an opportunity. It's such a fantastic place to get to.”
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About the UNEP Champions of the Earth
UNEP’s Champions of the Earth honours individuals, groups and organizations whose actions have a transformative impact on the environment. The annual Champions of the Earth award is the UN’s highest environmental honour. #EarthChamps
About the #BeatPollution campaign
To fight the pervasive impact of pollution on society, UNEP launched #BeatPollution, a strategy for rapid, large-scale and coordinated action against air, land and water pollution. The strategy highlights the impact of pollution on climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and human health. Through science-based messaging, the campaign showcases how transitioning to a pollution-free planet is vital for future generations.
在中国浙江省沿海，渔民们每天怀揣渔获满仓的期待，天不亮就出门拖网捕鱼，这一景象几代人未曾改变。
如今，他们大多数人拖着装满塑料的渔网，如同拖着鱼一样满载而归返回岸上。
这一变化源自2019年，“蓝色循环”环保项目为浙江的渔民、沿岸社区群众提供酬劳，鼓励他们收集塑料袋、瓶子和废弃渔网等塑料垃圾。
“蓝色循环”旨在运用先进的智能设备和区块链技术，清理和管理浙江省6600公里海岸线上的塑料污染，同时造福当地社区。
自“蓝色循环”启动以来，已有10240艘船、6300多名渔民和当地群众参与，回收近2500吨塑料。
浙江省生态环境厅（海洋处）陈渊处长表示：“我们希望‘蓝色循环’的海洋塑料废弃物治理模式能走出国门，走向世界，鼓励更多的人采取行动，遏制海洋塑料污染。”
“蓝色循环”获选2023年“地球卫士奖”-商界卓识奖，表彰其应对塑料污染所做的杰出贡献，该奖项是联合国最高级别的环保荣誉之一。
“人类对塑料的依赖正在威胁着地球的健康、我们的福祉和繁荣。”联合国环境规划署（环境署）执行主任英格·安德森说，“为确保公正过渡和改善民生，我们必须拥抱创新。蓝色循环展现了科技与可持续性相结合带来的可能性。”
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创新解决方案
“蓝色循环”由浙江省生态环境厅和浙江蓝景科技有限公司共同创建，是中国最大的海洋塑料垃圾回收项目。
“蓝色循环”搭建数字平台，利用区块链技术和物联网追溯每一件塑料（回收再生）的各个环节。
通过收集船只、港口、仓库和生产线的实时信息以及交互式地图，“蓝色循环”对塑料回收再生（信息）进行归纳整合，让人一眼看清产品中的塑料原料是 “谁运的、存哪里、谁再生、谁制造”。经过认证的海洋塑料制成的商品上印有二维码，消费者可以扫描二维码，获取这些信息。
“蓝色循环”对区块链技术和网络的应用让我们惊喜地看到未来环保行动的可能性。
浙江蓝景科技有限公司海洋事业部总经理陈亚红在接受环境署采访时表示：“我们已经创建了一个可以供全球参考学习的数字平台。”
“蓝色循环”计划在2025年向全球开放数字化系统，扩大规模，让各类企业（包括小规模企业和非正式部门企业在内）、政府和公益组织共同参与到这个项目。
人类对塑料的“生产-使用-丢弃”做法正在引发一场环境灾难。超过90%的塑料制品只使用一次就被填埋、焚烧或泄漏到环境中。这种目光短浅的做法占到实现《巴黎协定》最具雄心的气变目标所允许的全球温室气体排放量的近五分之一。
造福渔业社区
除种植茶叶和养殖丝绸外，渔业也是浙江乡村的经济支柱。不过，由于沿海地区的人口老龄化，这一行业已今非昔比。
为帮扶低收入人群，“蓝色循环”推出了一系列经济激励和福利计划。当地居民每收集一个塑料瓶，就可以获得2毛钱，这大约是市场价格的7倍。
“蓝色循环”成员可以通过数字平台获得来自银行和农村信用社提供的基础型社会保险和低息贷款。截至目前，金融机构已累计发放1.3亿元人民币的贷款。
该项目还设立了一个“蓝色共同富裕基金”，资金来源于向制造公司出售塑料所得收益。通过该基金，塑料垃圾收集者每月可增加1200多元人民币的收入。通过与政府和企业合作，“蓝色循环”已经为沿海地区的6000多名低收入居民和渔民提供了支持。
陈渊说：“浙江通过政府、企业和公众合作，全面实施各领域环境保护，不仅能促进经济增长，还能保护海洋生态系统，浙江人民渴望优美的自然环境和优质的生态空间。”
在全球范围内，环境署与发展中国家在内的各国政府和企业合作，促进塑料的公正过渡。这需要确保以公平、包容的方式实现塑料的可持续生产和消费，覆盖每一个人，包括拾荒者和塑料价值链中的其他工人。此外，专家表示，这种做法不仅可以创造体面的工作机会，对于确保包容性也至关重要，而包容性正是实现这一目标的关键因素。
与自然和谐共生
中国的塑料产量仍占全球的30%左右，但中国一直在采取措施解决塑料污染及其对环境的影响。
中国自2018年起实施塑料垃圾进口禁令，阻止发达国家的塑料废料进入中国。最近，中国政府还公布了在2025年内逐步淘汰所有一次性和不可生物降解塑料的计划。
中国生态环境部认为“蓝色循环”的做法值得在全国推广。在各级政府部门的进一步支持下，“蓝色循环”有望在2025年内大幅扩大活动范围，覆盖九个沿海省份和两个直辖市的289个港口。
浙江省生态环境厅的陈渊表示，“蓝色循环”的成功很大程度上得益于该行动与渔业社区间的相互促进：渔民增加了收入，沿海水域也更清洁。
他还提到了浙江省过去在环境保护方面取得的成绩。2018年，浙江省“千万工程”荣获“地球卫士奖”。习近平主席担任浙江省委书记期间，曾于2003年考察满山苍翠的安吉，并强调保护自然的重要性，他指出：“绿水青山就是金山银山。”此次考察为浙江的绿色发展注入了强大动能。
陈渊说：“人们确实亲眼见证了绿水青山就是金山银山。”
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关于环境署地球卫士奖
联合国环境规划署“地球卫士奖”旨在表彰对环境产生变革性影响的个人、团体和组织。一年一度的“地球卫士奖”是联合国最高级别的环保荣誉。#地球卫士#
关于#战胜污染#运动
为消除污染对社会的普遍影响，环境署启动了#战胜污染#战略，旨在针对空气、土地和水污染采取快速、大规模的协同行动。这项战略强调了污染对气候变化、自然环境和生物多样性丧失以及人类健康的影响，并通过科学的信息宣传，展示了向无污染地球过渡对于子孙后代的重要性。
It was only when José Manuel Moller began living on the outskirts of Santiago in a low-income neighbourhood that he experienced what is known as "poverty tax" – the extra costs people incur due to their economic circumstances.
A university student at the time, Moller was in charge of buying groceries for the house he shared with friends. Unlike in more affluent areas of the Chilean capital, there were few big supermarket chains in the area. So, most residents relied on local convenience stores that sold smaller quantities of essentials like cooking oil, beans and detergent – but at a premium.
Moller estimates he was paying up to 60 per cent more than if he had bought the same goods in bulk, and that plastic packaging was both inflating prices and creating an environmental problem.
"You realize that something unfair is happening," Moller told the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). "We are pushing lower-income consumers to pay more for packaging that ends up being a problem for sustainability and waste in the same neighbourhoods. The equation is wrong but to change this, you need to change the system."
To address what is a global issue, the 35-year-old founded Algramo (meaning "by the gram" in Spanish) in 2012. The social enterprise works with a range of retailers, from local shopkeepers to global brands, to encourage customers to use prefilled and refillable plastic containers for basics, such as dish soap and washing-up liquid. These household staples can be bought by the gram, with consumers paying the same per unit no matter how much or how little they buy.
Since 2020, Algramo customers have reused more than 900,000 pieces of packaging, keeping more than 100 tonnes of plastic from becoming waste.
For his efforts, Moller has been named the 2023 Champion of the Earth for Entrepreneurial Vision , one of the United Nations' highest environmental honours. Moller also works to galvanize the zero-waste movement through his role as vice chair of the United Nations Advisory Board of Eminent Persons on Zero Waste, an initiative set up in March 2023. The board helps raise awareness of the need to prevent, reduce and sustainably manage waste.
"How humanity produces, consumes and disposes of plastic has created a disaster," said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. "José Manuel Moller's work shows us that reusing plastic can enable a range of economic, social and environment benefits, which is crucial to transforming our relationship with this material."
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Driving the refill revolution
Less than10 per cent of plastic ever produced has been recycled. The rest is buried, burned or leaks into the environment, usually after just a single use. That plastic infiltrates land and sea and often makes its way into the human food chain.
To end the plastic pollution crisis , experts say it is crucial to find solutions that tackle the negative impacts of plastic products at all stages of their life cycle.
For Moller, encouraging consumers to make more sustainable choices is a key part of that process.
"The challenge around sustainability is not only about technology, it is also about consumer behaviour. I started thinking about how I could make people fall in love with an empty bottle,” Moller said.
In Chile, Algramo has partnered with convenience stores to allow shoppers to buy products in reusable bottles, with consumers returning their old containers when they do. At large retailers, Algramo has installed dispensing stations where customers can refill their own receptacles. The business is aiming to have more than 50 dispensing locations in the country by the end of the year.
Customers can also pay for orders via a phone app. Each container is fitted with a radio-frequency-based tag, a kind of smart barcode linked to an online account. The account tracks purchases and customers are rewarded every time the container is reused with a cash incentive. The money pops up in a virtual wallet, which can then be used as a discount on future purchases.
"Algramo believes that the solution to plastic pollution must not only be for high-income millennial vegetarians," said Moller. "This should be designed for everyone, who, at the end of the day, make decisions based on price. So, the approach of Algramo has always been affordability."
An ambition to change the world
For refill systems to become truly mainstream, Moller knows the importance of operating on a larger scale.
In recent years, Algramo has focused on expanding into other countries, including by providing expertise and software to other start-ups. Its greatest achievement, Moller said, has been convincing some of the world's biggest consumer goods companies to offer refill services for some products.
"Algramo has an ambition to change the world, not to offer detergent," Moller said. "I'm not excited about selling powder detergent or laundry detergent, I'm excited about changing the industry to move the needle on packaging and solving the poverty tax."
In Indonesia, Algramo is trialling a project in collaboration with Nestlé for two of its products, including a chocolate beverage. It is preparing to enter the Mexican market, having embarked on partnerships with Walmart and Target in the United States. It also has a partnership with a Lidl retail store in Birmingham, England, that allows customers to refill laundry detergent.
Despite the best efforts of social enterprises like Algramo, Moller admits there is a limit to what they can achieve. Ultimately, government regulation is needed to counter the rising tide of plastic pollution, he says.
"How do we push companies to do more than what the regulations are asking them to do?" Moller asks. "That is one of the main problems that we have today."
Moller says he feels an urgent need to shift consumer habits and make reusing plastics part of daily life. That drive stems from the fear that time is running out to avert the worst impacts of the climate crisis, he told UNEP.
In its latest report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that if greenhouse gas emissions continue to grow at current rates, the planet would be on track to breach the most ambitious targets of the Paris Agreement between 2030 and 2035.
Addressing plastic pollution is critical to countering the climate crisis, experts say. The production, use and disposal of conventional fossil fuel-based plastics is responsible for more than 3 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions a year.
"Reducing plastic pollution is relevant, it is urgent, and we are running late," Moller said.
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About the UNEP Champions of the Earth
UNEP's Champions of the Earth honours individuals, groups and organizations whose actions have a transformative impact on the environment. The annual Champions of the Earth award is the UN's highest environmental honour. #EarthChamps
About the #BeatPollution campaign
To fight the pervasive impact of pollution on society, UNEP launched #BeatPollution , a strategy for rapid, large-scale and coordinated action against air, land and water pollution. The strategy highlights the impact of pollution on climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and human health. Through science-based messaging, the campaign showcases how transitioning to a pollution-free planet is vital for future generations.
On a sprawling campus in Pretoria, scientists, engineers and researchers are hard at work in South Africa’s biggest and best-resourced laboratory complex. Hunched over microscopes, peering into petri dishes and meticulously recording test results, they have a shared vision: to improve the quality of life for all South Africans, as sustainably as possible.
For almost eight decades, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has harnessed some of the most brilliant minds to drive innovation in agriculture, energy, chemicals, health care, manufacturing, mining and defence.
In recent years, Africa’s leading science and technology research organization has also developed a series of innovations to tackle plastic pollution, which is taking a mounting toll on the environment.
“Everything that we do as CSIR ought to contribute towards improving the quality of life of the people of South Africa,” said CSIR’s Chief Executive Officer, Thulani Dlamini, in an interview with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). “That's the litmus test of whether we are really making an impact.”
For its efforts to develop and apply solutions to plastic pollution, CSIR has been named the 2023 Champion of the Earth for Science and Innovation , one of the United Nations’ highest environmental honours.
“Science-based, data-driven solutions are essential for environmental action to be effective,” said Inger Andersen, UNEP’s Executive Director. “The outstanding work undertaken by South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research reminds us that innovation is crucial if humanity is to forge a more sustainable future for people and planet.”
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Innovation to improve lives
Following the end of World War II, South Africa recognized that scientific research and innovation was needed to spur its economic recovery and industrial development. Thus, through an act of parliament, the country established CSIR in 1945.
Throughout its history, CSIR has played a vital role in providing rigorous evidence to inform decision making.
In 2022, it was the first to use Pathways , a software application developed by Pew Charitable Trusts and the University of Oxford to evaluate local strategies to reduce plastic pollution.
Its findings contributed to a report aimed at policymakers, which concluded that South Africa could reduce plastic pollution by 63 per cent by 2040 with interventions across the plastics value chain. Those include limiting the demand for plastic, using alternative materials and increasing waste-collection.
“There is no single solution to effectively address plastic pollution in the country,” said Dlamini. “It will require both upstream interventions – such as reducing demand and coming up with alternatives – as well as downstream interventions, such as improved waste collection, disposal and increasing recycling capability.”
Tackling plastic pollution
Affordable, flexible and durable, plastic has transformed everyday life and brought about many benefits to society, including in health care, construction, packaging and energy.
However, plastic generates 1.8 billion tonnes of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions a year, 3.4 per cent of the global total. Less than 10 per cent of plastic ever produced has been recycled. The rest is buried, burned or leaks into the environment.
South Africa’s rising population and increased consumption means that, without urgent action, plastic pollution in the country is set to almost double to 865,000 tonnes in 2040 from 491,000 tonnes in 2020, according to CSIR data .
To help reduce that toll, CSIR has developed a compostable plastic. Outside experts say that for very specific applications in which plastic waste is hard or nearly impossible to collect, such as agricultural mulch films, biodegradable plastic may be a useful solution. Products made from CSIR’s plastic alternative can biodegrade within 180 days or, combined with organic waste, turn into compost within 90 days, leaving no toxic residues.
Not all “biodegradable” plastic is what it is purported to be, however.
Thanks to equipment provided by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the Government of Japan, CSIR hosts the only laboratory in Africa with the capacity to test plastics that are promoted as biodegradable. Not only does this enhance transparency but the process can also identify any problematic types of new material.
The council has also created the #SolvePlasticsAfrica Hub, an open-source online platform that can help foster solutions, knowledge-sharing and collaboration between private and public sector partners across the continent.
“We don't want to do research that only ends up in the lab. We want to see this being translated where it makes an impact. We want to see the commercialization and scaling up of some of the solutions that we've developed,” Dlamini said.
CSIR employs about 2,400 staff, of whom 1,600 are scientists, researchers and engineers. The council’s cutting-edge research has led to numerous breakthroughs outside of plastics, including the development of a stem cell technology that could hold the key to finding cures to some of Africa's most prevalent diseases. Other highlights include techniques to genetically engineer pearl millet to boost its nutritional value and a high-resolution mapping tool to manage South Africa’s forests and monitor their biodiversity.
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“We are not just about making materials or blending polymers,” said Maya Jacob John, a principal researcher at CSIR. “In the long run, [our goal] is solving problems, including plastic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.”
About the UNEP Champions of the Earth
The United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP)Champions of the Earth honours individuals and organizations whose actions have a transformative impact on the environment. The annual Champions of the Earth award is the UN’s highest environmental honour. #EarthChamps
About the #BeatPollution campaign
To fight the pervasive impact of pollution on society, UNEP launched #BeatPollution , a strategy for rapid, large-scale and coordinated action against air, land and water pollution. The strategy highlights the impact of pollution on climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and human health. Through science-based messaging, the campaign showcases how transitioning to a pollution-free planet is vital for future generations.
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.
The Klamath, which runs through the states of Oregon and California, was once the third-largest salmon-producing waterway in the Western United States. But four hydroelectric dams – built between 1911 and 1962 – stifled the river’s flow, decimating local salmon populations. The fish are a keystone species and vital to the Yurok’s way of life.
In October, though, Cordalis and the Yurok celebrated as crews razed the last of the Klamath’s four dams. The demolition was the result of a seismic 2022 decision in which federal regulators greenlit the removal of the dams and the restoration of the river.
The ruling marked the culmination of decades of Yurok advocacy, protests and legal action. Cordalis played a key role in the effort. She led the appeal to regulators and helped forge a negotiated agreement with California, Oregon and the dams’ owner that resulted in the decommissioning of the structures.
“I thought we were going to be the generation that witnessed the collapse and complete death of the river,” she says. “But now we will be the generation that sees the rebirth and restoration of our ecosystem, our culture and our lifeblood.”
For her commitment to Indigenous rights and environmental stewardship, Cordalis has been named a 2024 Champion of the Earth – the United Nations’ highest environmental honour – in the Inspiration and Action category. She is one of six laureates in the 2024 cohort .
“Indigenous Peoples are on the frontline of global conservation. Empowering them can help foster healthy ecosystems for all,” says Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). “Amy Bowers Cordalis’ relentless activism and community mobilization has led to a decisive victory for ecosystem health and environmental stewardship. This can inspire activists and Indigenous rights defenders everywhere.”
Rivers at risk
Rivers are arteries of life humans, wildlife and ecosystems. More than 140,000 species rely on freshwater habitats, rivers and lakes, for their survival.
Yet few rivers globally remain in their natural, free-flowing state, and they are increasingly threatened by myriad factors, including pollution, land conversion and climate change. River flow has decreased in 402 basins globally, a five-fold jump since 2000, according to UNEP data.
Few people understand this better than Cordalis and her fellow Yurok, who are the largest Native American tribe in California, with more than 5,000 members, according to the tribe .
Known as the “salmon people”, the Yurok have historically depended on the fish as a source of sustenance and a cornerstone of their culture. But dams on the Klamath have prompted seasonal toxic algae blooms, which change temperatures and fuel diseases, diminishing water quality, say California officials. Growth in populations and settlements has further increased pressure on the river.
In 2002, the federal government diverted water from the Klamath for agriculture, resulting in low river flows . This proved fatal for at least 34,000 adult salmon.
“It was like seeing your entire family being murdered in front of your eyes,” Cordalis recalls. “It was a form of ecocide.”
Combining culture, science and law
The fish death traumatized but also galvanized the Yurok, who ramped up their activism to remove the dams, collaborating with other communities, scientists, commercial fishers and environmental groups.
For Cordalis, it was a defining moment that inspired her tojoin law school and later become general counsel for the Yurok Tribe.
When she took up the role in 2016, the Klamath had one of its lowest salmon runs on record, forcing the Yurok to close its commercial fishery. Inspired by her great-uncle’s legacy – his Supreme Court win in 1973 reaffirmed the Yurok Tribe’s land rights and sovereignty – Cordalis launched a series of legal actions that have helped to sustain salmon populations.
In 2020, she formed the non-profit Ridges to Riffles to provide advocacy and policy support for Indigenous communities to protect and restore their natural resources.
“We use our traditional knowledge and back it up with science and the law to speak the language of modern-day restoration,” Cordalis explains.
Recovery and restoration
The Yurok legal victory in 2022 resulted in what has been called the United States’ largest-ever dam removal and river restoration project .
While the decades-long struggle to remove the dams is over, Cordalis’ work is far from done.
The Yurok plan to restore and revegetate around 900 hectares of previously submerged land, return territory to tribal ownership, restore aquatic and terrestrial habitats for the benefit of fish and wildlife, improve water flows, and boost salmon numbers.
Salmon have returned to more than 640km of the reopened river near the California-Oregon border, reports the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Conservationists have observed Chinook salmon migrating into a formerly inaccessible habitat above the site of one of the four demolished dams, according to news reports . Within four decades, their numbers on the Klamath may increase by an average of about 81 per cent , according to the United States federal government.
The removal of the Klamath dams is part of a worldwide movement to restore river health and improve climate resilience. Several countries, for example, pledged last year to revive 300,000 kilometers of degraded rivers under UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. That is enough to circle the Earth seven times.
“If we can do it on the Klamath, we can do it throughout the world,” Cordalis says. “My vision is that the water will be clean and plentiful, and that there will be big, healthy and shiny fish in the river.”
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.
“I'm not upset or angry or worried. Nothing to complain about,” Paun says with a wry smile. “I can't explain why I have survived so many times. But I'm happy because I can do more.”
There’s an unsettling ease with which Paun describes decades of run-ins with what he calls the “forest mafia” – a collection of rogue loggers that observers say are wreaking havoc on some of the last remnants of Europe’s old-growth forests.
“I'm not fighting only for the trees, but for the entire forest ecosystem, including the thousands of species that live under and above ground,” Paun tells the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). “Primary and old-growth forests are of the utmost importance. I have all the reason to dedicate my life and career to them.”
For his efforts to defend the environment in the face of grave danger, Paun has been named a 2024 Champion of the Earth – the United Nations’ highest environmental honour – in the Inspiration and Action category. Paun is one of six laureates in the 2024 cohort.
“As ecosystems around the world are degraded and destroyed, environmental defenders stand as nature’s truest allies. Yet they continue to endure physical attacks, smear campaigns and other hardships,” says Inger Andersen, UNEP’s Executive Director . “Gabriel Paun’s brave, impactful actions make him an inspiration to envrionmental defenders across the globe who are seeking to protect forests and ecosystems from destruction.”
Treefall
Romania is home to two-thirds of Europe’s last remaining old-growth forests, according to the European Union . Those forests are primarily nestled along the Carpathian Mountains. They provide essential ecosystem services, climate regulation and flood control, to millions. They’re also home to some of Europe’s largest populations of big carnivores, including lynx, brown bears and wolves.
Yet forests in the country have been under siege for decades. In 2019, Romania’s Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests, said over half of all logging in Romania was unauthorized. The European Union says the practice is fuelling deforestation.
In 2009, Paun founded the non-government organization Agent Green to expose environmental crimes in Romania. Despite a limited budget and small team, Agent Green says it has helped save tens of thousands of hectares of primary and old-growth forests. In December 2023, it reported that it prevailed in years-long lawsuits against logging in the Domogled-Valea Cernei National Park, effectively protecting over 29,000 hectares of forests.
“The name ‘Agent’ speaks for itself: We stand for investigations,” Paun says. “But we also work with scientists to document particular forests and show the authorities – or the owners, if it's a private one – that it's a precious forest, and it's worth preserving.”
Paun says his organization is dedicated to non-violence. But his opponents don’t always sing from the same hymn sheet.
Bodily harm
On a chilly winter day in 2014, Paun tracked a truck exiting Romania’s oldest national park, the Retezat, loaded with lumber. Paun covertly followed the truck until it arrived at a sawmill. Camera in hand, he approached the factory entrance to document the crime.
In response, one security guard pepper-sprayed him.
In another incident in the Retezat in 2015, Paun says he was attacked and suffered serious injuries to his ribs, head and hand. Footage of the incident has since garnered nearly 150,000 views.
A European Parliament briefing in 2023 expressed “particular concern” after investigations revealed that “cases of violence and murder against whistle-blowers and foresters are surging” in the country.
Globally, over 1,700 environmental defenders from 61 countries were murdered between 2012 and 2021, according to a UNEP report .
“Environmental defenders are in terrible isolation. Our opponents are more or less happy that we are very few, and that makes us very vulnerable,” Paun says.
In the courts
Agent Green says it has filed “hundreds” of lawsuits to prevent illegal logging. The group has brought some of its cases to European institutions in a process Paun terms “a never-ending story.”
Yet Paun remains optimistic that environmental justice will prevail. He’s also extending his work beyond Romania, advocating at international summits and meetings with development agencies.
His latest project is the establishment of a shared peace park in the Carpathians, one of Europe's few truly wild areas at the Ukraine-Romania border.
“For wildlife and all the other species, there are no boundaries. The only boundary exists in our very own minds,” Paun says. “Our vision is also for people to live without borders. So it's a very symbolic project. And I think it's ecological diplomacy at its best.”
Ultimately, Paun says his inspiration comes from the beauty of nature.
“All the threats I've endured mean little or nothing to me,” he says. “I have to keep going because I cannot unlearn what I learned. And I learned that the planet is suffering and needs healing. If I stopped, then I would be morally dead. And to me, moral death is the most painful death of all.”
中国，乌兰布和沙漠。在连绵的沙丘和嶙峋的石柱间，数百名科学家齐聚沙漠林业实验中心。
在中国林业科学研究院首席科学家卢琦的悉心指导下，科学家们在内蒙古巴彦淖尔市钻研数据，培育抗旱树苗。他们的目标是抵御荒漠化，在中国最艰苦的自然环境中培育出一片绿洲。
乌兰布和沙漠是中国的主要沙漠之一，也是覆盖中国土地面积五分之一以上的沙漠生态系统的一部分。几千年来，中国一直致力于防沙治沙。气候变化导致荒漠化更加严重。不断蔓延的沙地威胁着农田和村庄，每年造成的直接经济损失超过90亿美元。
不过，中国有一个看似简单的解决方案：种植和养护防沙林，从而遏制沙漠扩张。然而，防沙林的成功与否取决于对缺水问题的严谨研究、技术进步甚至多边合作。
在应对这一系列挑战方面，卢琦都具备专业知识。他在长达30余年的职业生涯中牵头了50多个科研项目，发表了180多篇经过同行评审的论文，撰写了20本专著，并协助中国落实《联合国防治荒漠化公约》。这位61岁的老人正在利用这些经验，让沙漠重焕生机。
卢琦告诉联合国环境规划署（环境署）：“防治荒漠化的重要驱动力，不仅仅是为了保护自然，更是为了保护我们自己的生存环境。”
凭借其通过科学研究和多边参与应对荒漠化问题的努力，卢琦被授予联合国最高环境荣誉——2024年“地球卫士奖”（科学与创新奖）。卢琦是2024年度的六位获奖人之一。
“荒漠化和干旱正在破坏地球和人类福祉，”环境署执行主任英格·安德森表示，“但是，通过将科学与政策相结合，卢琦表明：我们可以解决土地退化问题，帮助社区适应气候变化，为数百万人构建更美好的未来。”
于荒漠见森林
卢琦早年的学术追求以林学为中心，直到三十多岁获得生态学博士学位后才开始关注沙漠。防治荒漠化被划分到林业的范畴，这也反映出中国的立场是，植树造林——在没有树的地方种树——是关键的解决方案之一。
卢琦说，“探索未知的热情”引领他走向了中国标志性的“三北工程”。这项也被称为“绿色长城”的计划于1978年启动，据研究人员称，它是世界上最大的植树造林项目。“三北工程”覆盖了中国北部地区的3000多万公顷土地。中国希望到2050年，该项目的面积扩大到4亿多公顷——这比印度和埃及国土面积的总和还要大。
卢琦在该项目中发挥了重要作用——包括早期在野外收集数据，在实验室分析防沙治沙策略等等。他是三北工程研究院的创始院长，研究院位于北京，为国家重大生态项目提供技术支持。研究院还通过培训讲习班和会议的形式参与多边合作，卢琦说，通过这种方式，就能让其他国家分享“中国的智慧和方案”。
“森林在涵养水源、保持水土方面具有重要作用。森林还与人们的生活品质、经济收入和食品安全密切相关。”卢琦说。据报道，今年早些时候，中国政府承诺出资约120亿人民币加强“三北工程”建设。
据中国国家林业和草原局的数据显示，该项目取得了令人欣喜的成果。20世纪末，中国的沙漠面积以每年3436平方公里的速度扩大。相比之下，从2009年开始，中国的沙漠以每年2424平方公里的速度缩小，自2016年以来，中国多达880万公顷的沙漠化地区变成了绿地。这些进展遏制了水土流失，改善了沙漠社区的生活条件，为村庄甚至北京等大都市提供了抵御沙尘暴的缓冲地带。此外，森林的固碳量是其排放量的两倍，有助于减缓气候变化。
“三北工程不仅是一项生态治理工程，更是将区域经济发展与人民生活幸福紧密结合起来的综合性战略规划。”卢琦表示。
新领域
在一个秋高气爽的日子里，卢琦凝视着乌兰布和沙漠崎岖的地形。电力线穿过一片片沙地，原本灰褐色的大地上已经出现了星星点点的绿芽和树木。远处，工程车和农民正在改造地形，扩建从黄河引水的灌溉渠。
卢琦说，数百年来，这片土地一直在与沙漠的侵蚀作斗争。现在，它已成为中国荒漠化治理工作的典范。
在卢琦的指导下，研究人员找出并收集了适合该地区生长的抗旱植物苗。研究院已经将乌兰布和沙漠超过1.1万公顷的土地转变为沃土。
但这场斗争远未结束。
“防治荒漠化需要全过程、全方位和全域的参与。”卢琦说，“我们的工作不仅限于政策建议，还包括提供技术支持、数据分析和解决方案，这些都是我们研究团队的成果。”
卢琦向联合国开发计划署、全球环境基金和其他一些处于全球荒漠化行动前沿的国际组织提供了他的专业知识。他的许多研究论文和著作也关注政策制定，并提供了通过多边合作减缓荒漠化、土地退化和干旱的最佳实践。
中国国务院于2024年任命卢琦为国务院参事，协助政府处理重大问题。这一任命既是卢琦在政策制定领域影响力不断扩大的最新里程碑，也证明了他和中国在以创新方法应对一个长达数百年的问题。
“我们生活在一片‘沙海’之中，”他说，“这样的景象既令人震撼，也充满了潜力。因此，我的祝愿和期待是希望更多的人能够意识到这一点，积极参与到沙漠治理和生态恢复的伟大事业中来。”
