There has never been a more urgent need to revive damaged ecosystems than now.
Ecosystems support all life on Earth. The healthier our ecosystems are, the healthier the planet – and its people. The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration aims to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems on every continent and in every ocean. It can help to end poverty, combat climate change and prevent a mass extinction. It will only succeed if everyone plays a part.
The Earthshot Prize is a global environmental award that is rewarded to five winners each year for their contributions towards environmentalism. It was first awarded in 2021 and is planned to be awarded annually until 2030. Each winner receives a grant of £1 million to continue their environmental work. The five categories were inspired by the UN Sustainable Development Goals; they are ‘restoration and protection of nature’, ‘air cleanliness’, ‘ocean revival’, ‘waste-free living’ and ‘climate action’.
The prize was launched in 2020 by Prince William and the biologist and natural historian David Attenborough. The winners are selected by the Earthshot Prize Council, which includes William and Attenborough.
Official Nominators
Working alongside a global network of Nominators ensures that The Earthshot Prize receives nominations for highly impactful projects that have huge potential to scale around the world through growth or replication.
By leveraging the power of this network, we are able to tap into the best knowledge and experience available to help us find the solutions that will repair the planet.
ORRAA is the only multi-sector collaboration connecting the international finance and insurance sectors, governments, non-profits, and stakeholders from coastal communities to pioneer finance products that incentivise investment into coastal and ocean Nature-based Solutions (NbS). ORRAA’s mission, by 2030, is to activate at least USD$500 million of investment into this space, and in so doing, help build the resilience of 250 million climate vulnerable coastal people in the Global South.
The NBSAP Forum is a global partnership aiming to support countries in implementing the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its strategic plans, including global biodiversity targets. To achieve this, CBD Parties are required to develop and implement national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs), including national targets, and integrate them into relevant sectoral and cross-sectoral plans, programmes and policies, and submit national reports (NRs) on the effectiveness of measures taken to implement the NBSAP. The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) host the NBSAP Forum, in partnership, through generous funding provided by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF). The purpose of the web portal is to support countries in finding the information they need to develop and implement effective NBSAPs and prepare national reports.
The Ocean & Climate Platform’s mission is to promote reflection and exchanges between the scientific community, civil society and political decision-makers in order to take better account of the ocean in the fight against climate change.
Why “ocean and climate” ?
Covering 71% of the Earth’s surface, the ocean is a complex ecosystem that provides services that are essential to sustain life on Earth. More than 25% of the CO2 emitted each year by humans into the atmosphere is absorbed by the ocean and it is also the world’s largest net supplier of oxygen, playing an equally important role as forests. The Ocean is therefore the planet’s main lung and is at the heart of the global climate machine.
While the ocean continues to limit global warming, anthropogenic pressure – mainly CO2 emissions – overexploitation of resources and pollution have been degrading marine ecosystems for several decades. The ocean may see its role as a climate regulator disrupted. It is therefore urgent to maintain the functional quality of marine ecosystems and restore those that are deteriorating, for “a healthy Ocean, a protected climate”.
The Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR) is a public-private coalition deploying a range of financial solutions and support for sustainable businesses to improve the resilience of coastal ecosystems, economies, and communities. Hosting both an Investment Fund and a Grant Fund, GFCR’s portfolio focuses on four impact sectors: Sustainable Ocean Production; Sustainable Coastal Development; Circular Economy and Pollution Management; and Financial Mechanisms.
Measuring and managing progress towards sustainable ocean development.
The Global Ocean Accounts Partnership (GOAP) is a global, multi-institutional partnership established to enable countries and other stakeholders to go Beyond GDP to measure and manage progress toward ocean sustainable development. Co-chaired by the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (Kementerian Kelautan dan Perikanan Republik Indonesia), Indonesia and Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, GOAP brings together governments, international organisations, and research institutions to build a global community of practice for ocean accounting.
At the High-level United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14) – The Ocean Conference – held in June 2017 at UN headquarters in New York, close to 1,400 voluntary commitments for concrete action to advance implementation of SDG 14 were made by governments, the United Nations system, civil society organisations, academia, the scientific community, and the private sector. These commitments, together with the Conference outcome document Our Ocean, Our Future: Call for Action, mark a global breakthrough on the path to sustainable management and conservation of our oceans, seas and marine resources.
Each of the Ocean Conference voluntary commitments addresses one or several of the SDG 14 targets, often with an associated positive impact on other SDGs, including for example SDG 3 on good health and well-being and SDG 13 on climate action, among others.
To follow up on the implementation of these voluntary commitments; to catalyse and generate new voluntary commitments; and to facilitate collaboration and networking amongst different actors in support of SDG 14, the United Nations has launched nine thematic multi-stakeholder Communities of Ocean Action.
Each community is coordinated by designated focal points who work together with the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean, Ambassador Peter Thomson, and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs in carrying out the activities.