TWO INDIAN ORGANISATIONS WIN UNDP EQUATOR PRIZE 2021

THE CONTEXT: Aadhimalai Pazhangudiyinar Producer Company Limited and Snehakunja Trust are among the 10 awardees of the prestigious Equator Prize given by UNDP for their work in the field of conservation and biodiversity

Analysis

  • The prize has been awarded for their exceptional achievement in showcasing local, innovative, nature-based solutions for tackling biodiversity loss and climate change and achieving their local development goals.
  • Aadhimalai Pazhangudiyinar Producer Company Limited is a 1,700-member cooperative, managed and run entirely by indigenous people from the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in Tamil Nadu.
  • It’s work in the past eight years has improved livelihood across 147 villages by processing and marketing a diverse range of forest produce and crops.
  • Snehakunja Trust has protected sensitive wetland and coastal ecosystems in the Western Ghats and the Karnataka coast for 45 years with a focus on community-based restoration and conservation.
  • This organization has supported hundreds of self-help groups and village forest committees to sustainably manage resources based on traditional knowledge, implement natural farming techniques, use clean energy, promote entrepreneurship, and provide community health services.

ABOUT UNDP EQUATOR PRIZE

  • The Equator Prize, organized by the Equator Initiative within the United Nations Development Programme.
  • It is awarded biennially to recognize outstanding community efforts to reduce poverty through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
  • The Equator Prize celebrates, on international stage the local and indigenous groups across the tropics that demonstrate and exemplify sustainable development.
  • The Equator Initiative is a multi-sector partnership led by UNDP that brings together the United Nations, governments, civil society, and grassroots organization to build the capacity of local efforts to reduce poverty  through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.