[Wigsat-l] ECO-FRIENDLY INITIATIVES RECOGNIZED WITH UN-BACKED AWARD

[Sophia Huyer]

ECO-FRIENDLY INITIATIVES RECOGNIZED WITH UN-BACKED AWARD
New York, Nov 10 2009 12:05PM
A range of eco-friendly start-up initiatives in Bangladesh, Colombia,  
India, Niger, Southern Africa and Zimbabwe have won a notable  
sustainable development award, the United Nations Environment  
Programme (<"http://www.unep.org/">UNEP) announced today.

The Supporting Entrepreneurs for Environment and Development (SEED)  
Award recognizes promising new locally-driven enterprises that work to  
improve livelihoods, tackle poverty and manage the sustainable  
development of natural resources in developing countries.

“The SEED Gold Winners show us that a low-carbon, resource-efficient  
green economy is as much a developing country and rural community  
issue as it is a developed country one,” <"http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=602&ArticleID=6366&l=en 
">said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.

“These genuinely inspiring initiatives are generating multiple  
economic, social and environmental benefits and being achieved often  
against enormous odds. The challenge now is to scale them up,” noted  
Mr. Steiner.

The five Gold Winners of the 2009 SEED Award include an association of  
small-scale women farmers in Zimbabwe striving to reverse severe land  
degradation through organic farming; a Bangladeshi non-governmental  
organization (NGO) developing a low-cost solar lantern made from  
recycled parts of kerosene lanterns; a group in Colombia setting  
environmental standards for local miners; civil society organizations  
in Southern Africa and India developing bio-cultural procedures to  
help indigenous communities share the benefit of local resources; and  
institutions in Niger establishing sustainable solid waste management  
systems to keep cities clean.

The SEED Award consists of individually-tailored business support  
services worth $35,000 for up to one year to help establish each  
scheme and increase its impact over the long-term. The services  
include access to relevant expertise and technical assistance, meeting  
new partners and building networks, developing business plans and  
identifying sources of finance.

The SEED Initiative, founded in 2002 by UNEP, is a partnership with  
the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Union for  
the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
________________

For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news

To change your profile or unsubscribe go to:
http://www.un.org/news/dh/latest/subscribe.shtml