|Equator Prize 2008|
The Equator Prize is awarded to recognize and celebrate outstanding community efforts to reduce poverty through the conservation of biodiversity. As sustainable community initiatives take root throughout the tropics, they are laying the foundation for a global movement of local successes that are collectively making a significant contribution to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Twenty-five winners were selected from a field of finalists to receive the Equator Prize 2008 and US$5,000 each. Five of these communities received special recognition and an additional US$15,000. In addition to worldwide recognition for their work as well as an opportunity to help shape national and global policy and practice in the field, all nominees for the Prize became part of the Equator Initiative’s global network and are profiled in the Equator Initiative biodiversity best practice database.
Special recognition was given in the following categories: one for each region of eligibility (Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean), one to the initiative that best exemplifies community approaches to adapt to climate change, and one to the initiative that best exemplifies the conservation of agricultural biodiversity.
The Equator Prize was presented in October 2008, at the World Conservation Congress in Barcelona, Spain.