From forests and drylands to lakes and mountains, vital ecosystems around the world are under mounting pressure from drought, desertification and land degradation. Globally, more than 2 billion hectares of land are degraded, harming the well-being of 3.2 billion people and driving countless species towards extinction.
Since 2005, the annual Champions of the Earth, the United Nations’ highest environmental honour, has been recognizing inspiring leaders whose transformative work is helping confront environmental challenges head on.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will reveal on 10 December the six winners of the 2024 Champions of the Earth award, honouring individuals and organizations working on innovative and sustainable solutions to restore land, enhance drought resilience, and combat desertification.
Ahead of the announcement, here is a look back at three previous laureates who are helping to counter drought, desertification and restore land.
Safeguarding Peru’s forests
Protecting the planet’s forests is vital for a multitude of reasons, from absorbing greenhouse gas emissions to providing a clean and continuous supply of freshwater.
Constantino Aucca Chutas – a 2022 Champion of the Earth in the Inspiration and Action category – understands that well.
The Asociación Ecosistemas Andinos, which Aucca founded in 2000, has supported Indigenous communities in the Peruvian Andes to plant at least 10 million trees and protect or restore 30,000 hectares of ancient Polylepis forests.
In a region blighted by decades of deforestation, this ever-expanding tree-planting drive is considered essential. For Aucca, it’s a question of looking after the next generation.
“The future of our children is the reason why we are planting native trees,” he told UNEP. “[We’re doing this] for pure air, for clean water, and for a green and healthy planet.”
Since winning the award, Aucca has continued to help Indigenous families to secure land titles, establish protected areas for their native forests and plant more trees. Through Acción Andina, Aucca is now aiming to help protect and restore 1 million hectares of forests across Peru and other Andean nations by 2025.
“We must plant more trees all over the Andes,” Aucca said. “People want to give something back to Mother Earth because they want to bring back her happiness.”
Empowering conservation – and women – in Cameroon
Humanity has significantly altered three-quarters of the world’s dry land, cutting down forests and draining wetlands at rates that experts warn are unsustainable.
In Cameroon, Cécile Bibiane Ndjebet – a 2022 Champion of the Earth in the Inspiration and Action category – has spent decades working to rehabilitate the environment while putting women at the heart of forest restoration.
Cameroon Ecology, an organization co-founded by Ndjebet in 2001, has trained women to restore more than 600 hectares of degraded land and mangrove forests, with a goal of reviving 1,000 hectares by 2030. Ndjebet is also President of the African Women’s Network for Community Management of Forests. Among other things, the organization has helped women assert ownership rights over family lands, something they often lack.
If women in rural areas had the same access to land, technology, financial services, education and markets as men, agriculture yields would skyrocket, she says.
“Women have [extensive] knowledge of the importance of lands and the ecosystems they depend on,” Ndjebet told UNEP. “They share knowledge with their children to perpetuate the sustainable methods and techniques they use.”
Reviving blighted lands in China
In the 1950s, the Saihanba area of northern China, which covers 92,000 hectares, was left barren due to excessive logging.
Enter the Saihanba Afforestation Community, a conservation group and a 2017 Champion of the Earth in the Inspiration and Action category.
In 1962, hundreds of foresters started planting trees in the area. One of those individuals, Li Xiuzhu, recalled sub-zero temperatures and tough work.
“I was freezing (but) we brought our passion to the moor and watered the trees with our sweat,” he said.
Thanks to Xiuzhu’s endeavors and those of three generations of tree-planters that have followed, more than 76,000 hectares of forest have been planted. By 2021, trees covered 80 per cent of Saihanba, up from 11.4 percent since the tree-planting community was established.
The grassroots initiative is a shining example, observers say, of how restoration can benefit communities.
The Saihanba forest now supplies at least 137 million cubic meters of clean water to the Beijing and Tianjin regions each year.
“As long as we continue to promote ecological [awareness], generation after generation, China can create more green miracles like Saihanba, and achieve harmony between humans and nature,” said Liu Haiying, director of the Saihanba Afforestation Community.
About 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 award is the UN's highest environmental honour. #EarthChamps
About the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration
The UN General Assembly has declared 2021–2030 a UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Led by the UN Environment Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, together with the support of partners, it is designed to prevent, halt, and reverse the loss and degradation of ecosystems worldwide. It aims at reviving billions of hectares, covering terrestrial as well as aquatic ecosystems. A global call to action, the UN Decade draws together political support, scientific research, and financial muscle to massively scale up restoration. #GenerationRestoration
