SGP_Prizes_and_Awards_June_07

June 2007

Stories from Agencies

	a.	Okavango Delta Boasts Magnificent Game Viewing
	b.	Good Tourism Practices in Belize and Ecuador
	c.	Important Lesson Learned from Crocodile Rehabilitation Project
	d.	Bringing Sustainability to the Marine Aquarium Trade

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Community Initiatives Receive Awards for Innovative Approaches

Community initiatives funded through the GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP) have recently been recognized with several prizes and awards for their innovative and effective approaches to delivering global environmental benefits, while at the same time generating sustainable livelihoods for local communities.

Woman from the La Barra Community in El Salvador taking care of crops irrigated using the solar energy system. Photo: Juan Rene Guzman.

El Salvador: Renewable Energy Project wins Energy Globe Award

In El Salvador, the National Energy Globe Award: “The World Award for Sustainability” has been presented to a novel approach that provides access to renewable energy for 73 families, while at the same time protecting the ecosystem and generating economic benefits. SGP’s support allowed the Asociación de Desarrollo Comunal Colonia la Barra (ADESCOLAB) to provide access to cheap and clean solar energy and help install fuel efficient stoves. The community-based organization also planted woodlots to reduce unsustainable harvesting in the forest and provide more effective protection of the biodiversity of the San Diego-La Barra ecosystem. In addition, the project has received a National Environmental Prize and attracted the attention of policymakers for its innovative approaches.

SGP Projects Tops Central Asia Best Practices

SGP projects in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan topped all categories in the “Best Practices Competition in Sustainable Development of Central Asia” awards. First prize was awarded to the SGP project “Mitigation of Threats to Biological Diversity in the Areas Adjacent to Saty Village by Ecology Tourism Development”. The SGP funded five out of six best practices chosen in Kazakhstan, and four out of the nine in Kyrgyzstan, highlighting the program’s achievement in developing best practices for community-based sustainable development.

Honduras: Ecotourism Project Becomes “Green List Honoree”

The Moskitian Route, an ecotourism project in Honduras, was awarded third place in Condé Nast Traveler magazine’s “2006 Green List,” which recognized ecological achievement in 80 projects, tour operators, and world-class quality hotels. The SGP-funded Moskitian Route project was designed to protect the Río Platano Biosphere Reserve, a Natural World Heritage Site that is in danger because of deforestation, colonization, and expansion of agricultural and cattle frontiers.

Awarding Innovation and Creativity

The UNDP Administrator’s Award for Innovation and Creativity has recognized SGP initiatives in Cuba and Iran. In Cuba, the burning of 150 tons of solid waste a day at a garbage dump in Guantanamo was severely affecting the adjoining community of Isleta Sur. A recycling facility has now been set up as an alternative to burning waste and SGP support has helped the community transform three hectares of the dump into a garden with fruit trees. The garden is producing compost, while the recycling facility employs 40 local residents, including 19 women. A community member, who was also awarded the National Environmental Award 2006 (the top annual prize given by the Ministry for the Environment), led the dump’s transformation.

In Iran, the SGP supported a project with the Salakh Village Council in Qeshm Island in which fishermen and their community were mobilized to rehabilitate local marine resources by developing artificial coral reefs. Fishermen led the design of the project and showed their innovation by creating reef pyramids that were smaller, less expensive, and easier to transport and install. The fishermen and community will monitor the rehabilitation impacts of the project, which was chosen as an Administrator’s Award finalist.

Equator Prize Finalists: Cutting-edge Initiatives in Biodiversity Conservation

More than a third of the 25 finalists for this year’s Equator Prize are community initiatives funded through the SGP. Projects from Brazil, Costa Rica, Mali, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Senegal, and Tanzania are in line for the prestigious prize, which rewards outstanding community efforts to reduce poverty through the conservation of biodiversity.

“This illustrates the ability of the SGP to foster best practice in the field of community led biodiversity conservation,” said Delfin Ganapin, Global Manager of the SGP.
“Local communities of the developing world are the source of many of the most innovative and imaginative responses to the challenges of sustainable development,” said Jeffrey Sachs, Equator Prize jury member and Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University.

Community Tours Sian Ka’an, one of the finalists, is a community-based, eco-tourism alliance of three Mayan cooperatives in the Sian Ka’an UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Mexico. The alliance has been able to raise their tour prices by 40 percent by creating much needed community income with minimal environmental impact. The Community Tours Sian Ka’an alliance is supported by SGP and United Nations Foundation.

The Equator Prize awards are presented by the UN-led Equator Initiative in partnership with the government of Canada, Conservation International, Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Fordham University, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), International Development Research Centre (IDRC), IUCN, the Nature Conservancy, RARE, Television Trust for the Environment (TVE), and the United Nations Foundation.

For more information about the GEF Small Grants Programme, updates, and information about the many awards received by the program, please see www.gef-sgp.org, or email sgp.info@undp.org.