Three groups of personnel were honoured as the first winners of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Kipepeo Award for their exceptional work, innovation and collaboration.
“Kipepeo” is the Kiswahili word for butterfly in a nod to the organization’s headquarters in Kenya as well as to the symbolism of butterflies as they transition from caterpillars, signifying the importance of being open to change and transformation for the better.
UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen congratulated all the winners and nominees at an online “town hall” session on 29 June, urging colleagues to continue the work towards addressing the triple planetary crises – the climate emergency, biodiversity loss, and pollution.
The following projects won in each category:
- Environmental Impact: Microfinances for ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change. This project aims to increase the climate resilience of small-scale farmers through innovative financial mechanisms, enabling adaptation of the bottom of the pyramid through market approaches. The project originally started in two Latin American countries, expanding to other parts of the region and was later implemented in two African countries through a South-South cooperation approach.
- Innovation Category: DaRT (Data Reporting Tool) for MEAs. DaRT is the first tool supporting Member States to use synergies in the field of knowledge management for national reporting to biodiversity-related conventions. It promotes effective sharing across Ministries and administrative units in one national working space, enhancing synergies across conventions, and increasing effectiveness of national efforts to achieve global environmental targets.
- Collaborative Teams Category: Earth School. Earth School was co-created by UNEP and Ted-Ed to provide kids, parents and teachers all over the world with engaging nature-focused content to stay connected to nature during the COVID-19 pandemic, which meant that many children worldwide were out of school. Earth School takes students on 30 quests, each focused on a different nature-related topic. The content was curated by a team of collaborators and volunteers.
Two projects received special mentions:
- G-Force and
- Facilitatation of the Global Area-Based Conservation and the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 by 2020.
The winners were selected from among 55 nominees.
This was the first such ceremony held since 2016. Rebranded and revamped to focus on teams, not individuals, the Kipepeo Awards are expected to be an annual celebration at UNEP.
