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If everything
is connected
everything
is important
pin Bolivia
Dayana Blanco
Dayana Blanco

When Dayana Blanco was a child, her father told her that the mountains were alive and that the weather talked to animals. It would tell the ducks how deep to place their nests in the water of Bolivia’s Lake Uru Uru, depending on how much rain there was going to be.

Which made her sad.

I used to wonder, that they just want to talk to animals and not to us, and my dad used to say ‘they also talk to us, it’s just that we lost the ability to listen deep’.
Dayana Blanco
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Lake Uru Uru, once a vital source of sustenance, had become polluted by mining residue, garbage and plastics. It had also drastically shrunk in size.

If the lake could talk, it was clearly shouting for help.

In response Dayana and the Uru Uru Team, guided by their ancestors, turned to an ancient remedy—the healing power of the totora reed.

Totora is a native aquatic plant of the region. Usually it was used for making boats or for the roof of our houses. Now we use it for absorbing the minerals or other contamination that is dissolved in the water that is being discharged into the lake.
Dayana Blanco
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pin Zambia
Maggie Bukowa
Maggie Bukowa

Growing up in rural Zambia Maggie Bukowa noticed the demands of a changing climate were affecting social ties in her village. The land was once covered in trees. And entire communities considered themselves one family.

Your child belongs to the community and everyone will look after your child. They don't have to be related to you, every time somebody has your back.
Maggie Bukowa
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But as the trees were chopped down for fuel, and resources became scarce, people became more insular.

She also noticed the role that climate change played in worsening gender-based violence. And she knew that women needed to control their lives.

She started Credorsave Loans providing small loans to farmers to diversify their crops and livestock.

We needed something that is community-led, in as much as we recognize that things are harder now, but we shouldn't lose who we used to be. We could still come together and share the little that we have in a community responsible way.
Maggie Bukowa
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Voices of tradition and change

Dayana and Maggie are just two of the voices of change in a worldwide web of talent, conviction and passion that is the inspiration for the Equator Initiative, which recognizes the wisdom and knowledge of Indigenous People and local communities across the globe.

The first Equator Prize was launched in 2002 during the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. Also known as Rio+10, it built on commitments made at the groundbreaking 1992 Earth Summit.

“It represented a great leap forward. At the time, there was almost no focus at all on global discourse about the value and importance of Indigenous Peoples and local communities”

—Jamison Ervin, Head, Nature for Development Programme, UNDP

Global partnerships

Supported by the governments of Norway and Germany, the Equator Initiative aligns with UNDP's Nature Pledge and Climate Promise initiatives which work with local communities to improve livelihoods and protect nature and human rights.

The Equator Prize ceremony is held once a year. The cash award is backed with a professional promotion and advocacy campaign which trains the winners how to tell their stories. As well as global events, national prize ceremonies help to position the laureates as prominent leaders of change.

“We focus on elevating each story at a global level, using the specific story from each community to help tell a larger story about nature, climate, development, gender and many other key issues.”

– Jamison Ervin

The support of partners has been crucial. Our 19 partners use their networks to find and select nominees. Their considerable collective communications machinery has meant widespread promotion, and that visibility attracts funding from other sources.

“We often receive powerful testimonies from prize winners that highlight how the Equator Initiative’s support in building capacity, advancing advocacy, fostering new partnerships, and providing crucial funding has transformed their work. These efforts have expanded their networks and strengthened their leadership both locally and globally. We are honoured to amplify Indigenous Peoples' stories, ensuring their voices are heard, their expertise recognized, and their essential role in shaping a sustainable future fully acknowledged.”

– Jamison Ervin

Photo:
UNDP / Francisco Galeazzi
Photo:
UNDP Equator Initiative / WTYSL

Listening to those who listen to nature

Kenya The Nashulai Maasaai Conservancy is addressing the root causes of both poverty and wildlife destruction. Nashulai means the place where the soul of nature meets the spirit of the people.

“When I leave my house, I am surrounded by the love of nature, the sounds of nature, the wildlife around me, and the open blue skies. When this happens, I feel that Mother Nature is smiling at me, giving me instructions, and telling me that I owe that space to future generations. It becomes my moment of obligation.”

Nelson Ole Reiyia

Nashulai community member

Micronesia Communities are returning to tradition to protect their reefs, waterways and forests and by becoming self-sufficient in food.

“We maintain our own resources and teach it to our children and regenerate our environment.”

Wenifred G Faimau

Tamil Resources Conservation Trust

Indonesia For more than 40 years the Dayak Iban Sungai Utik Long House in Indonesia had been fighting for the rights to their ancestral lands. These were recognized by the government after they won the Equator Prize in 2019.

“We depend on our customary lands and forest. Our culture depends on it. For arts, for fruits, for water. For fields, for wood, all of it is there.”

Bandi (Upai Janggut)

Sungai Utik Long House

The Equator spans the globe

The spirit of cooperation is the lifeblood of the Equator Initiative. People not only cooperating with the land and with animals, but also each other.

Maggie Bukowa sees no reason why her small Zambian credit union model couldn’t rebuild social bonds elsewhere.

Our very very long term goal is not to keep expanding as creditors but to document our model that it can be replicated by other people.
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And Dayana Blanco hopes that the philosophy that she inherited from her father—that “if everything is connected, everything is important”—will also inspire those facing different challenges in other places.

We have one world, and we should do the best for leaving it better than how we found it. I know that it’s difficult and I know everybody has challenges, but you are not fighting alone. There are people around the world who are fighting.
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