The Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) is pleased to draw the attention of Parties to the Call for nominations to the Equator Prize 2023.

The Equator Prize, organized by the Equator Initiative within the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is awarded to recognize outstanding community efforts to reduce poverty through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

The thematic priorities of this year’s call include the CMS core objectives to “protect and restore nature in order to ensure food and water security; mitigate and adapt to climate change; reduce risks from natural disasters, and safeguard biodiversity, including through ensuring habitat connectivity and species migration”.

The Equator Initiative will give special consideration to nominees working on ecosystem integrity, intactness and connectivity; intergenerational equity, and gender equality.

Nominations must be submitted by 20 March 2023, through the dedicated online nomination system.

Selection criteria and eligibility requirements of the Equator Prize 2023 can be found here.

The Secretariat encourages Parties and stakeholders to disseminate this call further with a view to encourage nominations about efforts that contribute to the conservation of CMS species, their migration and connectivity.

Equator Prize Winners stories and work that are in line with CMS objectives will also be promoted in the context of CMS especially in the margins of the forthcoming 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (23-28 October 2023, Samarkand, Uzbekistan).

For any further information, please contact Laura Cerasi, Fundraising and Partnerships Officer, CMS Secretariat, E-mail: [email protected].