BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE
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| Mongolia’s President Tsakhia Elbegdorj |
Mongolia’s President
Tsakhia Elbegdorj and Samson Parashina, a Kenyan Maasai conservationist, were on
Monday, June 4, 2012, named among six winners of the United Nation’s Champions of the Earth 2012 award, given
to those whose actions and leadership have had a positive impact on the
environment.
Making up the six
awardees were Brazilian banker Fábio C. Barbosa, renewable energy entrepreneur Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, renowned
Swiss aeronaut Dr. Bertrand Piccard and Dutch Scientist Dr. Sander van der
Leeuw, who were also recognised for their achievements.
Presenting the LG Electronics-sponsored
awards at a ceremony in Rio, UN
Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said the
winners have demonstrated commitment to building a sustainable future for the
planet through their work, which encompasses active green policies,
groundbreaking clean energy developments and community work that has helped
conserve critical ecosystems.
"As the world heads to Brazil for Rio+20
later this month these six individuals, deservedly named as Champions,
demonstrate that committed, concrete action can have a transformative effect on
countries, communities and businesses,” Mr. Steiner added.
He stated further, "On the eve of Rio+20,
the Champions of Earth 2012 should be an inspiration for world leaders to take
the bold decisions needed on behalf of seven billion people.” “In other words,
to put in place the pathways that will scale-up and accelerate a Green Economy,
while reforming the international institutions charged with realising
sustainable development and poverty eradication in order to deliver the Future
We Want.”
Specifically, the ceremony attended
by UNEP Goodwill Ambassador Gisele Bündchen, Brazil’s Minister of the
Environment Izabella Teixeira and Rio+20 Secretary-General Sha Zukang, presented
President Tsakhia Elbegdorj of Mongolia with
the Policy Leadership Award: for delivering on promises to put the
environment at the forefront of policies.
Fábio C. Barbosa (Brazil) and Dr. Sultan Ahmed
Al Jaber (UAE) also jointly received the Entrepreneurial Vision Award: for their business efforts in sustainability
and promoting renewable energy and clean technology respectively.
For
his part, Dr. Bertrand Piccard of Switzerland’s award was for
Inspiration and Action: for raising global awareness of the
possibilities of renewable energy-driven transport, while the Science and
Innovation Award went to Dr.
Sander Van der Leeuw (Netherlands), for his research, which applies lessons learned from
history to understand why humanity is not facing up to the long-term issue of
environmental change.
Samson Parashina of Kenya’s Special
Category – Grassroots Initiatives
Award on the other hand, was for leading community efforts to conserve
Kenya’s Tsavo-Amboseli ecosystem.
Mr. Parashina, whose Maasai Wilderness
Conservation Trust (MWCT) takes a grassroots approach to conservation in Kenya,
said the award “energised” him to push on with his work.
A citation accompanying the award said “At a
time where poaching of elephants and rhino is on the rise in Kenya, leading to
deadly gun battles with wildlife rangers, Mr. Parashina’s organisation is using
a community-led approach to prevent poaching through education and patrols. Mr.
Parashina is also head guide at Campi ya Kanzi, started in 1996 by his
long-term collaborators Luca Belpietro and Antonella Bonomi. The hotel was
named by CNN as one of ten top luxury eco-hotels around the world.”
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| The Champions trophy |
Mr. Parashina’s nomination was by actor Edward
Norton, who serves on the board of MWCT and is the UN’s Goodwill Ambassador for
Biodiversity.
Recommending him for the award, Edward Norton
said, “He’s one of my heroes and I’m in this role to celebrate people like him.”
“The work he has achieved is nothing short of inspirational and a truly
authentic example of an indigenous community addressing the sustainability
question within the context of deep commitment to traditional cultural values.”
In his response after receiving the award,
Mongolian President, H.E. Elbegdorj, who has prioritised green policies and
environmental awareness for youth, said his formative years as a herdsman
living close to nature helped shape his sustainable outlook.
“This is a great honour, not only for me but for
our nation. One day I will give up my Presidency … but I will continue as a
Champion of the Earth,” he said.
On his part, Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the Chief Executive Officer of
Masdar, which is developing a pioneering low-carbon city in Abu Dhabi and
investing globally in clean energy innovation and deployment, welcomed the
award and called on the world to work together to face the challenge of climate
change.
“The energy solutions the world needs today
cannot be driven by one country alone,” he said. “They will be stimulated by
collaboration, and founded on public-private partnerships. As a global
community, we have the responsibility to act collectively and address the
challenges we face.”
Paying
glowing tribute to the first president of UAE, Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said; “The UAE’s environmental
stewardship was instilled by our nation’s founding father and president, the
late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. He encouraged us to conserve our
environment and preserve it for future generations. Today, safeguarding our environment and
economic sustainability are at the core of the UAE’s development plans. It is a
great honour for me, Masdar, and the people of the UAE to be recognised for our
efforts in fulfilling Sheikh Zayed’s environmental legacy through this award.”
Winner in the Science and Innovation category, Dr.
van der Leeuw, who has spent his career
studying human-environment relations and invention and innovation in society,
applying the lessons learned from history to help understand why humanity is
not facing up to the long-term issue of environmental change, said the award
made him feel “more confident” about using his research to educate future
generations about the need for sustainability.
“Sustainability is
all about changing mindsets,” he said. “It is about individuals, groups, and
countries beginning to think differently about everything they do in life. We
can actually make a huge difference, ” he stressed.
According to a press release from UNEP
announcing this year’s winners, the inclusion of Piccard, who with Brian Jones
was the first to complete a non-stop balloon flight around the globe, marks the
second year in a row that a Swiss who has circumnavigated the globe was
included among the winners.
Last year, Louis Palmer who led a fleet of
electric vehicles around the world in 80 days and earlier became the first
person to circle the earth in a solar-powered vehicle, won the Inspiration and
Action award. The release said Piccard, who is 54, aims to become the first
person to travel the circumference of the globe in a piloted fixed-wing
aircraft using only solar power.
Receiving
his award, Dr. Bertrand Piccard
said; “Exploration in the 21st century is no longer about conquering
new territories, but about developing clean technologies in order to reduce our
dependence on fossil fuels.”
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| The Awardees |
Champions of the
Earth, which
was launched in 2005, is the UN's flagship environmental award and has since its
inception recognised 51 individuals and organisations for their leadership,
vision, inspiration and action on the environment.
The list of previous
Champions laureates include former US Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize
winner Al Gore, Mexican President Felipe Calderon, Chinese actress and
environmental advocate Zhou Xun, the Women's Environment & Development
Organisation (WEDO) and global music legend Angélique Kidjo.
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