The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has announced its 2022 Champions of the Earth winners, the UN's highest environmental honour, celebrating people who are stepping forward every day to find and implement innovative ways to support nature’s extraordinary capacity for renewal.
Following the launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), the 2022 cycle shines a spotlight on efforts to prevent, halt, and reverse ecosystem degradation across the world.
Meet the 2022 Champions of the Earth:
Arcenciel - Inspiration and Action
Arcenciel (Lebanon) is a leading environmental enterprise whose work to create a cleaner, healthier environment has laid the foundation for the country’s national waste management strategy.
Today, Arcenciel recycles more than 80 per cent of Lebanon’s potentially infectious hospital waste every year.
Constantino (Tino) Aucca Chutas - Inspiration and Action
Tino (Peru), has pioneered a community reforestation model driven by local and Indigenous communities, which has led to three million trees being planted in the country.
He is also leading ambitious reforestation efforts in other Andean countries.
Sir Partha Dasgupta - Science and Innovation
Sir Partha Dasgupta (United Kingdom) is an eminent economist whose landmark review on the economics of biodiversity calls for a fundamental rethink of humanity’s relationship with the natural world to prevent critical ecosystems from reaching dangerous tipping points.
Dr. Purnima Devi Barman - Entrepreneurial Vision
Dr. Purnima Devi Barman (India) is a wildlife biologist who leads the “Hargila Army”, an all-female grassroots conservation movement dedicated to protecting the Greater Adjutant Stork from extinction.
The women create and sell textiles with motifs of the bird, helping to raise awareness about the species while building their own financial independence.
Cécile Bibiane Ndjebet -Inspiration and Action
Cécile Bibiane Ndjebet (Cameroon) is a tireless advocate for the rights of women in Africa to secure land tenure, which is essential if they are to play a role in restoring ecosystems, fighting poverty, and mitigating climate change.
She is also leading efforts to influence policy on gender equality in forest management across 20 African countries.
For more information, contact alejandra.perez@un.org.
