UNDP's
work on biodiversity:
project
showcase
THE EQUATOR INITIATIVE
A partnership that brings together the United Nations, civil society, governments and local groups, the Equator Initiative aims to champion and support community-level development projects that link economic improvement with the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
The world’s greatest concentration of biological wealth is found in the tropics, in countries often beset by acute poverty. Local initiatives and indigenous communities in these regions are actively charting a path towards a more sustainable future, using their biological resources in creative ways for food, medicine, shelter and income generation.
The Equator Initiative's projects include the biennial Equator Prize, awarded to outstanding community-based initiatives that demonstrate in practical terms how the conservation of biodiversity can also reduce poverty. Presented at a special ceremony at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, the first Equator Prize in 2002 spotlighted seven outstanding communities. Selected by an eminent international jury, the Equator Prize 2002 laureates were drawn from over 420 nominations from 77 countries. The next Equator Prize will be awarded at the Seventh Conference Parties to the CBD in Malaysia.
Community representatives receiving the Equator Prize 2002In addition to the Equator Prize, a programme offering 'learning exchange grants' to grassroots practitioners has been implemented. By creating a space in which to share best practices with other communities in the tropics, these grants are designed to draw lessons from community-level experience and to support the spread of successful community-level innovations among NGOs, host governments, and development aid agencies. This learning exchange process also seeks to allow local stakeholders to influence the formulation of national and international policy while building partnerships.
The Equator Initiative gives community representatives access as well as opportunity to help design, debate and monitor policy and regulatory change in national, regional and global forums on environmental protection and poverty reduction. This also includes initiating or sponsoring multi-stakeholder dialogues to influence various levels of policy and bringing together governmental, non-governmental, private sector, donors and communities. Work in the area of governmental and bilateral policy includes influencing governmental processes such as the CBD Conferences of the Parties, the World Parks Congress, and Climate Change Conventions. There is a particular focus on highlighting and celebrating community experiences in order to increase financial support for active communities and improve access to markets through policy instruments like incentives and funding programmes.
Working to facilitate eco-entrepreneur mentoring to provide business, financial advice and micro-credit for small sustainable business startups, the Equator Initiative assists people and protected areas where communities must balance income generation with the conservation of biodiversity. By linking local sustainable development innovations with policies that affect them, communities are ensured to have the input and political support they deserve. By helping make market policies work for communities, the Equator Initiative works to influence the private sector to provide market access, mentors and support to community enterprise that utilize biodiversity in a sustainable way.
The Equator Initiative shares knowledge and facilitates cutting-edge thinking at the biodiversity protection and poverty reduction nexus in order to investigate how community action can contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Actively engaging with the Millennium Project and Campaign, the Equator Initiative recognizes that the MDGs will only be achieved with local support. Fostering research and learning by enlisting networks of experts and practitioners to use community best practices to inform policy and development priorities, the Equator Initiative has mounted a global public awareness campaign to encourage adoption of community best practices in developing regions. As sustainable community initiatives take root throughout the tropics, they are laying the foundations for a global movement of similar local efforts that are collectively making a substantive contribution towards the MDGs.
Consistent with the intent of the Equator Initiative to highlight and promote innovative and successful partnerships in sustainable development between communities and civil society, the private sector and/or government, UNDP is undertaking this initiative in partnership with BrasilConnects, the government of Canada, Conservation International, The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), IUCN - The World Conservation Union, The Nature Conservancy, Television Trust for the Environment (TVE), and the United Nations Foundation.
Online resources:
Conservation International homepage
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) homepage
International Development Research Centre homepage
IUCN – The World Conservation Union homepage
The Nature Conservancy homepage
Television Trust for the Environment homepage
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