An environmental award is usually awarded for activities that lead to the protection of the environment. The awards may be open to the global community or only within a particular country or field of work. [1]
An environmental award is usually awarded for activities that lead to the protection of the environment. The awards may be open to the global community or only within a particular country or field of work. [1]
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm in June 1972. Its mandate is to provide leadership, deliver science and develop solutions on a wide range of issues, including climate change, the management of marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and green economic development. The organization also develops international environmental agreements; publishes and promotes environmental science and helps national governments achieve environmental targets.
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe is one of the five regional commissions under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. It was established in order to promote economic cooperation and integration among its member states.
James Gustave (Gus) Speth is an American environmental lawyer and advocate who co-founded the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Janez Potočnik is a Slovenian politician who served as European Commissioner for Environment from 2009 until 2014. He was formerly Slovenia's Minister for European Affairs. In November 2014, he became co-chair of the International Resource Panel (IRP), a forum of scientists and experts working on natural resources management.
The Global 500 Roll of Honour was an award given from 1987 to 2003 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The award recognized the environmental achievements of individuals and organizations around the world. A successor system of UNEP awards called Champions of the Earth started in 2005.
Eco-Schools is an international programme of the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that aims to “empower students to be the change our sustainable world needs by engaging them in fun, action-orientated, and socially responsible learning.”
A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campaigners, participants in direct action, or just individuals acting alone. They can defend rights as part of their jobs or in a voluntary capacity. As a result of their activities, human rights defenders (HRDs) are often subjected to reprisals including smears, surveillance, harassment, false charges, arbitrary detention, restrictions on the right to freedom of association, physical attack, and even murder. In 2020, at least 331 HRDs were murdered in 25 countries. The international community and some national governments have attempted to respond to this violence through various protections, but violence against HRDs continues to rise. Women human rights defenders and environmental human rights defenders face greater repression and risks than human rights defenders working on other issues.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) established Champions of the Earth in 2005 as an annual awards programme to recognize outstanding environmental leaders from the public and private sectors, and from civil society.
Proposals for the creation of a United Nations Environmental Organization (UNEO) have come as some question the efficacy of the current United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) at dealing with the scope of global environmental issues. Created to act as an anchor institution in the system of Global Environmental Governance (GEG), it has failed to meet those demands. The UNEP has been hindered by its title as a Programme as opposed to a specialized agency like the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) or the World Health Organization (WHO), in addition to a lack of voluntary funding, and a location removed from the centers of political power, in Nairobi, Kenya. These factors have led to widespread calls for UNEP reform, and following the publication of Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC in February 2007, a "Paris Call for Action" read out by French President Chirac and supported by 46 countries, called for the UNEP to be replaced by a new and more powerful United Nations Environment Organization, to be modelled on the World Health Organization. The 52 countries included the European Union nations, but notably did not include the United States and BRIC, the top five emitters of greenhouse gases.
Huey Johnson was an American environmentalist and the founder of Resource Renewal Institute (RRI), a non-profit organization that deals with environmental sustainability. He was also the founder of The Trust for Public Land, the Grand Canyon Trust and the Environmental Liaison Center. In 2001, Johnson was awarded by the United Nations Environmental Programme the $200,000 Sasakawa Prize, considered one of the world's most important environmental awards. Huey Johnson's work in resource management has been praised by United Nations officials for having a global perspective. The United Nations has also called Johnson "a catalyst and champion for environmental protection”.
This timeline of the history of environmentalism is a listing of events that have shaped humanity's perspective on the environment. This timeline includes human induced disasters, environmentalists that have had a positive influence, and environmental legislation.
The Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation promoting sustainable development through environmental education. FEE is active through five programmes; Blue Flag, Eco-Schools, Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE), Learning about Forests (LEAF) and Green Key International. It has members in 77 countries worldwide.
Denis Delestrac is a French director and producer who is best known for creating feature-length investigative documentaries. His films focus on the ecological, social, and political impacts of natural resources. His film, Sand Wars, influenced the United Nations Environmental Program to write a report on sand scarcity in 2019.
Ndyakira Ntamuhiira Amooti was a Ugandan children's writer, journalist and environmentalist, awarded the Global 500 Roll of Honour and winner of the Goldman Environment Prize.
The Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association, or BELA (বেলা), is a nonprofit legal organization established in 1992 to assist efforts to protect the environment. In 2003, it was placed on the 'Global 500 Roll of Honour' of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP). BELA was awarded the prestigious "Poribesh Puroshkar", or 'Environmental Prize', of the Bangladeshi government in 2007 and the joint winner of the Tang Prize in Rule of Law in 2020.
The Environmental Protection Agency, is an agency of Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, established by EPA Act 490 (1994). The agency is dedicated to improving, conserving and promoting the country’s environment and striving for environmentally sustainable development with sound, efficient resource management, taking into account social and equity issues. It oversees the implementation of the National Environment Policy. EPA Ghana's mission is to manage, protect and enhance the country’s environment and seek common solutions to global environmental problems. Its mission is to be achieved through an integrated environmental planning and management system with broad public participation, efficient implementation of appropriate programs and technical services, advice on environmental problems and effective, consistent enforcement of environmental law and regulations. EPA Ghana is a regulatory body and a catalyst for change to sound environmental stewardship.
SEED is a global partnership for action on sustainable development and the green economy. It was initiated in 2001 by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB). Under the name SEED Initiative it was presented as an “Example of Excellence” partnership inter alia by UNEP and BMUB at the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 where it was also registered by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as a Type II Partnership. SEED was originally conceived as an acronym for Supporting Entrepreneurs for Environment and Development.
Julia Carabias Lillo is a Mexican ecologist and Environmental Conservationist. She is a professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and served as the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources under President Ernesto Zedillo from 1994 to 2000.
