Land for Life Award seeks nominees for prize worth up to USD 100 000 to scale up sustainable land management

​Award announced to recognise significant and innovative contributions to reversing land desertification, land degradation and drought

Changwon, Republic of Korea, 19 October 2011 – Seeking to promote efforts for sustainable land management, the Land for Life Award was launched at the tenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

The Land for Life Award will provide global recognition to individuals, teams, institutions, businesses, research institutes, public offices, political leaders, decision-makers, journalists, media, nongovernmental organizations and civil society organizations whose work and initiatives have made a significant and innovative contribution to sustainable land management.

The Award will reward initiatives which contribute directly or indirectly to the regeneration and/or enhancement of soils' natural health and productive capacity or to the sustainable regeneration of depleted or drought affected lands. It recognizes innovative achievements which favour collaborative schemes, partnership-building across sectors, free knowledge sharing and capacity building, empowerment of vulnerable and marginalized groups and communities, and which foster gender equality, cultural diversity and social inclusion.

In 2012, three awards will be granted from an amount up to USD 100,000. The use of the award money is limited to scaling-up the award-winning sustainable land management activity. The recipients of the Award will receive rewards in accordance to the kind of activities for which they are honoured, and free transportation and accommodation to attend the presentation ceremony on the occasion of the 11thsession of the UNCCD's next Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention. The laureates will be notified in June 2012.

A jury to determine winners will be composed of qualified and geographically balanced experts and renowned men and women in the field of development, sustainable land management and soil science.

About the UNCCD
Desertification, along with climate change and the loss of biodiversity, were identified as the greatest challenges to sustainable development during the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. Established in 1994, UNCCD is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment, development and the promotion of healthy soils. The Convention's 194 signatory Parties work to alleviate poverty in the drylands, maintain and restore the land's productivity, and mitigate the effects of drought.

For more information contact Ms. Yukie Hori, tel: +49 228 8152829, email: yhori [at] unccd.int (yhori[at]unccd[dot]int)