Why in news?
Bibi Fatima women’s Self-Help Group (SHG) from Teertha village, Karnataka among global winners of UNDP Equator Prize 2025
 
Theme 2025: Nature for Climate Action with a special focus on youth and women-led initiatives.
Prize: Each winner receives $10,000 and global recognition, with invitations to participate in leading UN events such as the UN General Assembly and COP30 in Brazil.
 
Overview
The Equator Prize is an international award managed by the Equator Initiative within the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It is presented annually to recognize outstanding nature-based solutions led by Indigenous Peoples and local communities that promote sustainable development, ecological resilience, and biodiversity conservation.
 
Purpose and Impact

• Goal: To honor community-led efforts that reduce poverty through the sustainable use of biodiversity.
• Focus Areas: Protecting and restoring ecosystems, advancing climate change mitigation/adaptation, and promoting inclusive green economies through nature-based solutions.
• Special emphasis: Every cycle focuses on pressing themes; in 2025, the theme was Women and Youth Leadership for Nature-Based Climate Action.

Recent Highlights
Ten winners were announced in 2025, chosen from over 700 nominations spanning 103 countries. Winners come from Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, Peru, and Tanzania.
 
Indian context:

• The Bibi Fatima Women’s Self-Help Group (SHG) from Teertha village, Karnataka
• Formed in 2018, now supporting over 5,000 farmers in 30 villages
• Promotes millet-based mixed cropping, eco-friendly natural farming, manages seed banks, processes millet using solar power, and empowers women through rural agribusiness partnerships

 
Other Initiatives: Range from rainforest conservation and marine ecosystem restoration to Indigenous craft cooperatives and agrobiodiversity zones. Women and youth leadership are central to their success.
 
Significance
The Equator Prize is often described as a “Nobel Prize for Biodiversity Conservation” and has honored more than 296 community organizations since its start in 2002. The award amplifies local voices, supports nature-based solutions, and contributes towards achieving climate resilience and the Sustainable Development Goals.

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