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In India, Shiva is the god of destruction. His job is to destroy the universe to re-create it. Every morning, Hindu temple bells ring out across the mist. The sound mingles with chanting, as groups of people gather to offer orange and pink flowers, milk and incense.

Since Arpit Dhupar, founder of Chakr Innovation, won the Young Champions of the Earth prize for Asia and the Pacific region, his start-up has come a long way.

When Miao Wang started diving, she was shocked at the deterioration of the ocean ecosystem around her. Now, three months after winning the Young Champions of the Earth prize for Asia and the Pacific, she has made great strides in addressing ocean protection.

When Chakravorty, a 31-year-old journalist at the Indian Express, discovered that plastic pollution is so pervasive that it affects our food supply, he was shocked. “I was staggered to say the least,” he explains. “I felt that writing about the issue was not enough, so I decided to embark on a plogging journey—a combination of jogging with picking up litter.”

Arpit Dhupar is one of two Young Champions of the Earth for Asia and the Pacific. The Young Champions of the Earth Prize is powered by Covestro.

Arpit Dhupar is one of two Young Champions of the Earth for Asia and the Pacific. The Young Champions of the Earth Prize is powered by Covestro.

Rakhi Goswami sits on a carpet on the floor of a small classroom in Delhi, India. The learning centre is situated near one of the largest landfill sites in the country. Surrounded by a group of children painting plastic bottles in bright colors and making waste into decorations, she explains her work. She helps children build their dreams, instead of picking through landfill trash.

Twenty-eight-year-old wildlife defenders Zenifar Azmiri and Sahrin Jahan have been woken up more than once in the middle of night. Their camp in Cox’s Bazar, the largest refugee camp in Bangladesh bordering Myanmar, houses one million Rohingya refugees fleeing violence in Myanmar.

Eritai Kateibwi, 2017 Young Champion of the Earth for Asia and the Pacific, shares his experiences implementing his modular hydroponics project in the island nation of Kiribati. March 2018

Twelve environmental startups have been awarded as the winners of the Asia Pacific Low Carbon Lifestyles Challenge, receiving $10,000 seed money to make their ideas reality.

Young citizen of Kiribati wins top UN Environmental prize UN Environment today made Kiribati citizen Eritai Kateibwi a Young Champion of the Earth for his work on a hydroponics system that will improve human health and resilience to climate change on the low-lying island.