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, the UN's global development network, is undertaking this initiative in partnership with the government of Canada, Conservation International, Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Fordham University, The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), International Development Research Centre (IDRC), IUCN - The World Conservation Union, The Nature Conservancy, Rare, Television Trust for the Environment (TVE), and the United Nations Foundation.

• The Government of Canada has a rich history in supporting efforts to protect biodiversity. Not only were they the first nation to sign the Convention on Biodiversity, but they are also the host to the Permanent Secretariat to the Convention, in Montreal.
  
  
• Conservation International applies innovations in science, economics, policy and community participation to protect the Earth's richest regions of plant and animal diversity in the hotspots, major tropical wilderness areas and key marine ecosystems. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., CI works in more than 30 countries on four continents. Conservation International believes that the Earth's natural heritage must be maintained if future generations are to thrive spiritually, culturally, and economically. CI's mission is to conserve Earth's living natural heritage, our global biodiversity, and to demonstrate that human societies are able to live harmoniously with nature.
  
  
• CBD- the Convention on Biological Diversity , first signed at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit and now counting 188 state parties, is dedicated to promoting sustainable development. Conceived as a practical tool for translating the principles of Agenda 21 into reality, the CBD recognizes that biological diversity is about more than plants, animals and micro organisms and their ecosystems – it is about people and our need for food security, medicines, fresh air and water, shelter, and a clean and healthy environment in which to live. The 2010 Biodiversity Target set by the CBD- reducing biodiversity loss as a contribution to poverty alleviation- was further endorsed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development.
  
  
• Ecoagriculture Partners is an international non-profit organization that works with farmers, conservationists, researchers, leaders in rural development, entrepreneurs and policymakers around the world to sustain, develop and promote ecoagriculture.  Ecoagriculture Partners emphasizes respect for cultural diversity and self-determination and thus embraces partners who use a wide range of approaches to achieve ecoagriculture outcomes.  Ecoagriculture Partners was “incubated” in 2002 as a special project by its initial co-sponsors: the Future Harvest Foundation, Forest Trends, IUCN - the World Conservation Union, and the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF).
  
  
• Since 1841, Fordham University has offered a distinctive educational experience rooted in the 460-year-old Jesuit tradition, a tradition characterized by excellence in teaching, the care and development of each individual student, and a heritage of public and international service. Fordham has three residential campuses in New York, the tree-lined, 85-acre Rose Hill campus in the Bronx;the cosmopolitan Lincoln Center campus in the heart of Manhattan's performing arts center;and the scenic Marymount campus located on the banks of the mighty Hudson River in the hamlet of Tarrytown, N.Y. Among its 11 undergraduate, graduate and professional schools, the University enrolls more than 15,000 students hailing from all 50 states and 50 foreign countries. As part of its educational mission, Fordham encourages its students to develop an individual commitment to others, and to seek out opportunities to make their own contributions to the communities in which they l ive and to the wider world.
  
  
• The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), provides German development cooperation, and has three priority areas for funding: poverty alleviation, environmental and resource protection, and education and training. BMZ is committed to sustainable development in which economic, social and ecological development are viewed as an indivisible unit. BMZ’s focal areas are: poverty alleviation; environmental and resource protection; and equal opportunities for women and men; all are considered significant multi-sectoral tasks. In all German development cooperation, the impact of initiatives on poverty, the environment and women in the country in question are evaluated.
  
• IDRC, The International Development Research Centre is a public corporation created by the Government of Canada (www.canada.gc.ca) to help communities in the developing world find solutions to social, economic, and environmental problems through research. Its mandate is to initiate, encourage, support, and conduct research into the problems of the developing regions of the world and into the means for applying and adapting scientific, technical, and other knowledge to the economic and social advancement of those regions.
  
  
• IUCN - The World Conservation Union was founded in 1948 and brings together 78 states, 112 government agencies, 735 NGOs, 35 affiliates, and some 10,000 scientists and experts from 181 countries in a unique worldwide partnership. Its mission is to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable. Within the framework of global conventions IUCN has helped over 75 countries to prepare and implement national conservation and biodiversity strategies. IUCN has approximately 1000 staff, most of whom are located in its 42 regional and country offices while 100 work at its Headquarters in Gland, Switzerland.
  
  
• The Nature Conservancy is an international nonprofit organization whose mission is to preserve the Earth's diverse array of plants and animals by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. Founded in 1951, the Conservancy has worked in a science-based and collaborative way with local communities, government agencies and private businesses to help protect more than 90 million acres in 30 countries.
  
  
• Rare is an international nonprofit conservation organization with the mission to protect wildlands of globally significant biodiversity by enabling local people to benefit from their preservation. Using innovative capacity development and media technology training, Rare works with more than 120 grassroots and government-level conservationists to help communities connect with and become stewards of their rich natural surroundings.
  
  
• TVE (Television Trust for the Environment) is an independent, non-profit organisation, whose mission is to act as a catalyst for the production and distribution of films on environment, development, health and human rights issues. Based in the UK but with very much a global focus, TVE uses broadcast television and other audio-visual resources - including the internet and radio - as its key platforms. It works above all to promote informed debate, new policies and practical solutions to the growing challenges of human development in the twenty-first century.
  
  
• The UN Foundation was established by Mr. Ted Turner, who chose the United Nations as the vehicle for his global gift because the UN provides the machinery to help find solutions to international challenges, and to deal with pressing concerns facing people everywhere. The Foundation's mission is to support the goals and objectives of the United Nations and its Charter, in order to promote a more peaceful, prosperous and just world - with special emphasis on the UN's work on behalf of economic, social, environmental and humanitarian causes.

• GROOTS (Grassroots Organizations Operating Together in Sisterhood) operates as a flexible network linking leaders and groups in poor rural and urban areas in the South and the North. GROOTS nurtures relationships of mutual support and solidarity among women engaged in redeveloping their communities. As part of their effort to promote learning among grassroots women’s groups and indentify, publicize and consolidate women’s traditional knowledge, GROOTS has collaborated with the Equator Initiative in organizing and convening numerous international fora and events. GROOTS has played an essential role in working with the Equator Initiative to facilitate local-local and local-global dialogue and is working to bridge the divide between local action and global response.
  
  
• ZENGO, Inc. An independent production house which produces documentary films, television programs, and multi-media digital contents. In past 19 years, ZENGO produced numerous award winning documentaries and entertainment contents for networks and public television in Japan as well as for the international film & TV market. Based in New York, ZENGO develops and produces international co-productions and multi media contents.
  
  
• Wheels4Life was founded by Extreme Mountain Biking Champion, Hans Rey, and is a non-profit organization that provides free bicycles for individuals in need of transportation in developing countries. Partnering with local individuals, governments and other organizations, Wheels4Life hopes to alleviate the problems created by lack of public transportation in these countries. Wheels4Life is a volunteer organization and ensures that 95% of funds go towards the purchase and delivery of bicycles.
  
  
• Sony is one of the most comprehensive entertainment companies in the world today, providing electronics, communications, information technology, entertainment (motion pictures and music), and financial services to consumers around the world. Joining WWF’s Climate Savers Programme in 2006, Sony has pledged to cut its CO2 emissions from both operations and its product range by seven percent by 2010. Moreover, recognized for its laudable results in maximizing the energy efficiency of its products, Sony was recently awarded with the European Commission’s Sustainable Energy Europe Award.