2017 Land for Life Award Winners

With the theme “Land and Human Security” the 2017 Land for Life Award awarded nominees whose work has demonstrated tangible evidence of transforming the lives of communities suffering from the impacts of land degradation.

The 2017 Land for Life Award winners are:

• Watershed Organization Trust from India
• UN Environment and Practical Action Sudan from Sudan

The 2017 Land for Life China Award goes to:

• Ms. Yingzhen Pan, Director General of National Bureau to Combat Desertification, State Forestry Administration 

The 2017 Land for Life Special Mention is:

• Ms. Florencia Escudero Fonseca from Spain 

“The winners show that restoration of degraded land can halt distress migration that is driven by unproductive land resources. Families and communities are transformed and become more resilient towards climate change when job opportunities are created. When practices like these are amplified globally, sustainability, stability and security of all is possible. It only requires political will and decisive action against losing more productive land to desertification,” said Ms. Monique Barbut, the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).