The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification has recently announced the winners of the 2013 Land for Life Awards to promote anti-desertification campaigns and organizations.

The announcement was made on June 17, the 19th anniversary of the World Day to Combat Desertification which was created in 1994 to celebrate the adoption of the UNCCD.

A total cash prize of $100,000 was distributed to development organizations from India, Mexico and Australia, for their contribution to sustainable land management, according to officials.

The first prize, along with $40,000, went to the Foundation for Ecological Security, a nongovernmental organization based in India, which ranked at the top of the 137 applicants from 62 countries.

The runners-up were Consejo Civil Mexicano para la Silvicultura Sostenible from Mexico and World Vision Australia, both recognized for cultivating and popularizing major desertified regions within their territory.

“The winners exemplify the type of leadership and initiatives which make the difference at the grassroots level,” said Luc Gnacadja, executive secretary of the UNCCD at the celebration conference held on June 17 in Ghent, Belgium.

“Much of what they do is very simple, yet innovative and inspirational.’

In order to replicate the positive cases around the world, one of the UNCCD’s goals is to establish policies which may attract investment, he added.

The organization Rehabilitation of Arid Environments in Kenya also received special mention from the jury for helping local rural communities regenerate degraded areas.

Other countries, such as Eritrea, Hungary, Kenya, Portugal and Thailand, also unveiled their local anti-desertification champions.

“Their outcome may not yet be so visible at this point in time but their zeal, drive and sacrifice will preserve a productive land heritage for the future generation,” said Gnacadja.

The jury for the award included Yolanda Kakabadse, president of the World Wide Fund for Nature; Denis Garrity, former executive director of World Agroforestry Center; and other environmental experts from the public, civil and academic sectors.

“(When evaluating the applicants) we awarded high marks for techniques which have displayed visible improvements, which are being applied with large scale impacts and which may potentially be replicated globally, as well as domestically,” said Garrity, on behalf of the jury.

By Lee Kwon-hyung, Bae Hyun-jung
(kwonhl@heraldcorp.com) (tellme@heraldcorp.com)