Putting
Globalization on More ‘Intelligent’ Path
Unites UNEP’s 2007 Champions of the Earth
Award winners
announced on Eve of
Governing
Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum
Nairobi,
1 February 2007 - - Seven leaders whose achievements range from chemical
safety, sustainable waste management and the greening of sporting events to the
conservation of deserts, rainforests and the global climate are to be honoured
as Champions of the Earth 2007, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) announced
today.
The winners, who will be
presented with their awards at a special ceremony in
· His Excellency Mr.
Cherif Rahmani for advancing environmental law in
· Elisea ‘Bebet’ Gillera Gozun for pushing
forward the environmental agenda in her native
· Viveka Bohn of
· Her Excellency Ms.
Marina Silva of Brazil for her tireless fight to protect the Amazon rainforest
while taking into account the perspectives of people who use the resources in
their daily lives;
· Al Gore of the
· His Royal Highness
Prince Hassan Bin Talal of Jordan for his belief in transboundary collaboration
to protect the environment and for addressing environmental issues in a
holistic manner;
· Jacques Rogge and
the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for advancing the sport and environment
agenda by providing greater resources to sustainable development and for
introducing stringent environmental requirements for cities bidding to host
Olympic Games.
News of the winners comes in
advance of UNEP’s annual gathering of environment ministers taking place next
week at the organization’s headquarters in
Achim Steiner, UN Under
Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, said: ”Steering globalization
onto a more intelligent and sustainable trajectory requires the commitment of
governments, the private sector, local authorities and civil society—but it
also needs individuals capable of catalizing change, empowering others and
inspiring action”.
“The men and women we are
recognizing today are indeed role models who have committed themselves to
realizing a more just, equitable and sustainable world. Proof, if proof is
needed, that globalization can be sustainably managed if we harness the
intelligence, energy and vision so self evident in these Champions of the Earth
2007,” he added.
The awards, presented for the
third time, recognize prominent and inspirational environmental leaders from
each region of the world. Through
leadership, vision and creativity, each Champion has made an impact at the
policy level.
The winners will be honoured
at a gala event hosted by UNEP, the Singapore Ministry of the Environment and
Water Resources (MEWR) and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), with the support
of various sponsors and partners including Asia Pacific Resources International
Holdings (APRIL).
On 19 and
Linked with the UNEP Champions of the Earth award
event, the
Notes to Editors on the
Winners
AFRICA
H. E. Mr. Cherif Rahmani - Algeria
H. E. Mr. Cherif Rahmani’s career has been guided by a
profound commitment to the protection of our planet. As a Minister, he has worked tirelessly to
greatly advance environmental law in
He has also established model financial and economic
instruments aimed at promoting a tax system in
Mr. Rahmani has made significant contributions in his
capacity as President of the Foundation ‘Deserts du Monde’ and as Honorary
Spokesperson of the United Nations International Year of Deserts and Desertification. For example, he led the creation of the
Institute of Deserts and the Museum of Deserts, the rehabilitation of Fort de
Tinerkouk, the International Conference on the Biodiversity of Deserts (Brazil),
the International Conference on Women and Desertification (Italy), the Second
International Symposium on Desertification and Migration (Spain) and the
International Scientific Conference on
Deserts and Desertification (Tunisia), as well as the organization of the Third
Festival of Cultures and Civilizations of the People of the Deserts.
Contact: Ms. Lylia Harchaoui, E-mail:
l.harchaoui@yahoo.fr;
ASIA
AND THE PACIFIC
Elisea “Bebet” Gillera Gozun -
Mrs. Elisea “Bebet” Gillera Gozun’s commitment to
public service and her passion for the environment has given her the energy to
overcome obstacles, persuade disbelievers and shape alliances.
Her leadership in World Bank projects resulted in
tangible results such as the introduction of pollution charges for industrial
effluents in the Philippines, the establishment of the ECOWATCH programme – an
innovative public disclosure programme of environmental performance of priority
industries – and the "Brown Fund"- the first tripartite funding
source for local urban environmental initiatives, jointly managed by
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), business and government.
Mrs. Gozun recognized that without the local
communities, the private sector and local governments on board led by mayors,
no national policy could succeed. She
has pushed for the introduction of community-based waste recovery, recycling
and reuse in the
Her personal integrity, combined with a keen pragmatic
sense for what is politically feasible to constitute a viable solution, have
won her the trust of business leaders, NGOs and political decision-makers
alike.
Contact:
Ms. Elisea “Bebet” Gillera Gozun, E-mail:
bggozun@hotmail.com;
EUROPE
Viveka Bohn -
Ms. Viveka Bohn has played a
prominent role in multilateral negotiations, including environmental treaties
such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Stockholm Convention on
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).
Her leadership has been especially evident in global efforts to ensure
chemical safety, which has been increasingly recognized as a key crosscutting issue in the pursuit of
sustainable development.
She is also being recognized for her work on chemicals
with the adoption of the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals
Management (SAICM) by the international community. This important new global
policy framework will catalyse and guide efforts to achieve the Johannesburg Plan of
Implementation goal of sound management of chemicals by 2020. As President of the Preparatory Committee for
the Development of the Strategic
Approach to International Chemicals Management,
she was central to this body’s
evolution and was instrumental in its finalization at the International
Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM) in
As head of the Swedish project
secretariat for the World Summit on Sustainable Development in
Contact: Mr
Per Thege, E-mail: per.thege@environment.ministry.se;
H. E. Ms. Marina Silva – Brazil
H. E. Ms. Marina Silva has
been a tireless fighter for the protection of the Amazon rainforest. Her work has championed conservation while
taking into account the perspectives of people who use the resources in their
daily lives. In this respect, she is a
champion of the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity, which
promotes conservation, sustainable use and equitable sharing of the benefits of
biodiversity.
Ms. Silva has recognised that, in protecting the
environment, building a coalition of support demands adherence to a core set of
values. Her belief that the success of
the fight to save life on Earth demands that principles are at the forefront of
our efforts has made her a deserving recipient of the 2007 Champions of the
Earth award.
As a member of
Contact:
Mr. Fernando Lyrio, E-mail: fernando.lyrio@mma.gov.br; Tel: (55-61) 4009
1416/1003
Al Gore –
During Al Gore’s 16-year
career in the U.S. Congress and his eight-year term as Vice-President, he has
made protecting the environment a pillar of his public service. He led
Congressional efforts to clean up toxic dumps leading to the formation of the
Superfund and held the first hearing on global climate change. In conjunction with his numerous trips around
the world to visit those habitats most threatened by human intervention and
climate change, he worked to educate fellow members of Congress and the
American public on the dangers posed by rising atmospheric carbon dioxide
concentrations as well political inaction in the face of a growing
environmental crisis.
Mr. Gore and President William
Clinton expended great efforts to protect habitat across the
Since the conclusion of his
public service he has continued his committed efforts on behalf of the environment. His critically-acclaimed documentary An Inconvenient Truth – based on his
presentation on climate change and which he has shown more than 1,000 times
across the world – has become the third-highest grossing documentary in the
history of the
Throughout his 30-year career,
as a politician, author, statesman and entrepreneur, he has made, and continues
to make, critical contributions to the protection of the environment.
Contact:
Ms. Stacy Schumaker, E-mail:
stacy@carthagegroup.com
HRH Prince El Hassan Bin Talal
-
To sustain natural resources for future generations,
HRH Prince El Hassan Bin Talal has addressed environmental issues in a holistic
manner. In particular, his belief in
transboundary collaboration to protect the environment merits global
recognition.
HRH has initiated, founded and has been actively
involved in a number of Jordanian and international environmental
institutions. As President of Jordan’s
Higher Council for Science and Technology (HCST), he has emphasized the need
for relevant and improved environmental policies, strategies and
programmes. HRH has ensured that HCST
focuses on enhancing the quality of life of the inhabitants of dryland areas,
empowering them to improve their standard of living using available resources
without having to change their traditional way of life.
Also under his leadership, the Royal Scientific
Society has been active in the field of environmental management and
protection, specifically water quality management. H. R. H. has supported global partnerships
aimed at ensuring sustainable energy use, such as the Trans-Mediterranean
Renewable Energy Cooperation, an organization, which has had a measurable
impact on sustainable development and which has pointed the way to clean and
equitable energy production by sharing capital and know-how.
Contact: Mr.
Habib El-Habr, Director of UNEP Regional Office for
UNEP
SPECIAL PRIZE
Jacques Rogge and the
International Olympic Committee
As President of the
International Olympic Committee (IOC), Mr. Jacques Rogge has played an
important role in the development of the sport and environment agenda. The
changes he has brought to the organization have reinforced the importance of
the environment in the work of the Olympic Movement.
Mr. Rogge has perpetuated a
policy that seeks to provide greater resources to sustainable development in
and through sport at national, regional and international levels, and
particularly at the Olympic Games. This
policy enshrined in The Olympic Charter is an important development as it
strives to promote Olympic Games which respect the environment and meet the
standards of sustainable development. Furthermore, it aims to promote awareness
among and educate the members of the Olympic family and sports practitioners in
general of the importance of a healthy environment for sustainable development.
Since taking the helm of the
IOC in July 2001, Mr. Rogge has introduced stringent environmental requirements
for cities bidding to host Olympic Games.
As a result of these measures, no bid is considered without a
comprehensive environmental programme.
He has played an active and personal role in encouraging organizers of
Olympic Games (
In addition, Mr. Rogge has
endorsed the continuation of the IOC biennial World Conference for Sport and
Environment and regional seminars for sport and environment. Under his leadership, the World Conference
has become one of the most recognizable events on sport and the environment and
continues to draw stakeholders from all sectors of the sporting world to
discuss their role and contributions to sustainable development.
Contact: Mrs. Emmanuelle Moreau, Media
Relations Manager or Ms. Sandrine Chabert, Media Relations Coordinator, E-mail:
pressoffice@olympic.org; Tel: +41-216 216 111; Fax: +41-216 216 356
Additional Notes to
Editors
Background on the
Champions of the Earth prize and all the laureates, including biographies and
photographs, is available from http://www.unep.org/champions/ or from UNEP DCPI
at championsoftheearth@unep.org.
The Champions of
the Earth award, established in 2004, is presented by UNEP each year to
outstanding environmental achievers and leaders.
No monetary reward
is attached to the prize. Each laureate receives a trophy made of recycled
metal especially designed by the Kenyan sculptor Kioko. The trophy represents the fundamental
elements for life on Earth – sun, air, land and water.
UNEP invites
nominations from individuals who have made a significant and recognized
contribution globally, regionally and beyond, to the protection and sustainable
management of the Earth’s environment and natural resources. Candidates are judged by a senior UNEP panel
with input from UNEP’s regional offices.
UNEP’s Governing
Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum runs from 5 November until 9
November www.unep.org
For More
Information Please Contact Nick Nuttall, UNEP Spokesperson, on Tel: +254 20 762
3084, Mobile: +254 733 632755 or +41 79 596 5737, E-mail: nick.nuttall@unep.org
UNEP News Release
2007/03