Winners by region

My project, “La Tricyclerie” (Tri-cycling), has been running for two years and is based on three elements: waste sorting, the food cycle and a tricycle (pushbike). The idea is to use a bicycle trailer to collect organic waste from restaurants and offices in the city (Nantes). This waste is then composted locally to benefit urban and peri-urban agriculture (and farmers). The project combines several environmental objectives that support a sustainable, less polluted, more autonomous city, and better soil protection. It’s an easy and previously untapped solution for managing organic waste in densely populated areas at the community level. My aim is to strengthen the links between urban and rural areas, and between people and their plates, in order to promote responsible consumption. The project creates jobs, benefits citizens, businesses and institutions alike, and can be replicated elsewhere. It has quickly proven its worth and has united the community by addressing several important issues: food and nutrition, waste, urbanism and transport.

Pangolins are the only scaly mammals in the world but unfortunately, they are the most trafficked mammals the world over with over one million pangolins estimated to have been trafficked within the past decade. Pangolins are considered to be luxury meals in China and their scales are used in Asian traditional medicine thereby fuelling international trafficking from Africa to Asia. Conservation efforts to help save these species in Central Africa are hampered by lack of data on their populations, trade and strongholds. This project proposes to conduct applied pangolin research in protected areas in Cameroon suspected of having populations of pangolins. This applied research will focus on pangolin populations, bush meat trade and threats to pangolins in these protected areas. This will be accompanied by pangolin sensitization in Cameroon by way of organizing activities in collaboration with other organizations to celebrate the World Pangolin Day in the second Saturday of February.

Health Accord is a health micro-insurance program which uses trash as monetary asset in enabling poor slum residents without medical insurance to pay for health coverage, medications and other clinical services. With Health Accord; the communities, especially women, pay for healthcare services using trash as an insurance fund. This way, Health Accord empowers the community to enhance environmental sustainability and the local sanitation by shifting from conventional methods to innovative solid waste disposal solution. Health Accord long term goal is to craft a model with the power to protect planetary health by locally disrupting the cycle of poor health and ecosystem destruction that exists in Nigeria and other parts of West Africa where unmet needs result in unsustainable resource use. Through an incentive system of healthcare rewards to communities that engage in recycling in exchange for healthcare, and education, Health Accord links healthcare to environmental protection.

Children are good at radio. Radio is good for children, and listening to children on the radio is good for everyone. So how is it that children have been forgotten in environmental advocacy through radio programming? In Zambia, they represent roughly 40% of the population, yet less than 1% of broadcasting on climate change and the environment involves children. The strong institutional basis for inclusion of children’s rights in the national climate regime has yet to align with an emerging mechanism for championing children’s issues in the sector. For example, Zambia’s National Adaptation Programmes of Action rarely, if ever, reference the unique vulnerabilities of children. Similarly, they often fail to draw on the practical knowledge and capacity for meaningful change that children offer. Voice4Climate envisions building a Kids FM Radio Station to create opportunities for child-led issue-based dialogue, participation, active citizenship, and advocacy on Climate Change.

Somalia has been suffering from almost 3 decades of prolonged conflict and unrest. Environmental issues have never been taken care off. There has been massive destruction for environmental resources such as wildlife trafficking, desertification for being the largest charcoal export in the world to Gulf of Arab, land degradation, allegations for dumping of toxic waste into the oceans and illegal finishing by foreigners. I have made some progress in establishing the Somali Institute for Environmental Peace (SIEP), a non-profit Institution using academic knowledge and skills to conduct both pure and applied research for educating environmental phenomenon and human behavior to better understand the relationship between environmental degradation and human livelihoods for environmental peace. This idea came to my mind after I discovered that there has never been a single research institution for environmental issues in Somalia. I believe environmental research and education are essential tools in achieving sustainable development.

Jacigreen offers an innovative, eco-friendly solution to the problem of water hyacinth in Africa and the devastating degradation of cropland caused by chemical fertilizers. The invasive alien species hyacinth grows very rapidly in the waterways of the Niger River. Although not inherently harmful, initially purifying the waterway in which it grows, water hyacinth becomes a problem once it reaches a certain maturity by suffocating aquatic life. Jacigreen introduced a plant-based purification mechanism to help manage fresh water sustainably and improve access to drinking water.

Mangrove E-Patrol links on-line and off-line mangrove conservation through a designed e-map. To protect the mangrove from further destruction and monitor its changes, we have established patrol teams nationwide, recording the ecological information as well as exposing and handling destructive events. Based on this, we are developing an online map that can be linked with WeChat to further encourage public participation in patrol. WeChat has a wide user group in China, so everyone could be a user and a creator of the map. Public users can upload location, photos and descriptions to the map to present the first-hand information related to mangroves in real time.

For the very first time, sustainable waste management system will be implemented with the help of mobile application namely “ENVLee” (to be developed). Smartphone users will be able to open account on it with their personal details which could be only accessed by the user and app administrator. The app will allow the user to input the number of waste (in case of organic) or kilograms of processed organic waste (fertilizer). Accordingly, they will be rewarded with points/stars. As soon as the points/stars reach sufficient level, the user will be contacted for waste collection. “Project ENVLee” team will collect the waste from the user’s house. The team will take that to recycle companies or fertilizer distributing companies depending on the kind of waste collected. These companies will pay according to the weight. A percentage of the money will be sent to the user through an online or mobile payment system.

Helpusgreen® has pioneered the concept of ‘flowercycling®’, which aims to prevent the Ganges river from becoming a religious sewer by up-cycling the critical temple waste (16% of total river pollution). The floral waste that emerges from temples and mosques in Uttar Pradesh, India, is collected by self-help groups of, predominantly female, manual scavengers who, in turn, hand-craft and produce patented organic fertilisers, natural-incenses and biodegradable packaging materials. Since the Ganges River is considered sacred and holy, its cleaning will not only provide predictable and disease-free livelihoods to manual scavengers, but also a life of dignity, respect and social acceptance. It is worth noting that India’s 1.6 million manual scavengers collect human excreta from dry latrines and sewers on a daily basis (FSG 2016), and carry it away on their heads for disposal at the outskirts.  Helpusgreen® will revolutionize the way India handles the ‘million ton flower waste disposal' and brings hope to revive the lifeline of 420 million people: the Ganges River.

I want to create a collaboration space that connect local artisan, makers, and marginalized communities in rural Indonesia with designers and young professional to create product from waste and build community business. We will optimize furniture industry, fashion industry and agricultural industry waste to develop new product that have high economic value. We will create crafts, fashion products, home decoration, and plastic packaging substitutes. Simultaneously, the space acts as a business accelerator to encourage the local community to build sustainable enterprises with the help of professional mentorship. The makerspace will be built in 4 regions in Indonesia that have different characteristics and cultural backgrounds. We will develop a replicable framework which can to be applied in other regions.

Used cooking oil (UCO) pollutes the environment when disposed of improperly. It is one of the least recycled waste products in households, mainly because UCO collection from individuals is not yet well developed in most countries. Most commonly it is poured down sinks, clogging drainage systems and adding substantial costs for cleaning pipes and treating wastewater. My idea is to develop a green business model based on making soap and detergents from used cooking oil, aiming to: 1) increase UCO recycling rate; 2) produce environmentally friendly cleaning products; and 3) help create sustainable communities and circular economies (local material, local produce and local use). Once validated and established, this model can be adopted and implemented by municipalities with benefits for the local communities. Moreover, the project has the potential to stimulate people’s involvement in UCO collection by offering them an end product that can be used directly in their households.

The "Smart SolarWind Tree" is a smart installation that simultaneously generates the energy of the sun and wind in an urban environment. We have developed for this project a clever anti-vandal self-cleaning solar panel made of impact-resistant polycarbonate and a new type of modular wind generator Savonius with air pockets. Recently we made a 6-meter sample in the form birch tree with our partners. At night, the installation illuminates the place around the tree with energy-saving LED lamps, in the absence of people, multi-coloured energy-saving LED ribbons are used to decorate the city at night. In the winter, a smart tree warms benches so that people can sit comfortably and it can heat the sidewalks around the tree so that people do not fall during the glaze ice.

Green roofs are eco-friendly infrastructures in the city of Quito, Ecuador. Selecting native plants suitable for green roofs is the key to making these infrastructures a success and ensuring that they are welcomed by citizens, authorities and industry alike. The use of native plants makes the city greener and restores the bird and insect biodiversity that has been displaced by urbanization. The project focusses on propagating and experimenting with different native plant species on green roofs to see how they fare.

Carbon accounting for schools is a social project that aims to encourage students to take responsibility for their own carbon footprint. It promotes an educational and dynamic environment by raising students’ awareness of ways to reduce their carbon footprint and offset the emissions they generate and release into the environment. If actions that can reduce emissions are learned and practised in schools, students can then share this knowledge with their families and, in the future, with their own children. This knowledge-sharing will prepare current and future generations for the challenges presented by climate change.

Although the Tambopata National Reserve is a protected natural area in Peru, it was invaded by gold miners who entered the area illegally, destroying thousands of hectares of rainforest and contaminating the food chain with mercury, leaving behind arid land with no signs of life. The miners have been evicted from these areas with the help of constant monitoring activities, but the pioneer tree species that were present prior to the mining activities still need to be restored. The forest will then regenerate and fauna will return to the area, so that rural and native communities living in the region can work in eco-tourism. This forest is a beautiful landscape that must be recognized and protected.

SERES (Social equity, resilience & ecosystem sustainability) cultivates and generates momentum for youth leadership to build fair and sustainable communities in Central America. Young people provide us with an opportunity to capitalize on their creative ideas and energy, which can make significant contributions to addressing the complex social, environmental and economic challenges that the region faces. SERES combines leadership development and practical engagement, building a movement to create dynamic community leaders and sustainability entrepreneurs who are finding creative ways to tackle climate change and build community resilience.

This focus is designed to work in general terms (people-led movements that campaign for change) and on a more profound level (developing highly skilled and transformative leaders) and aims to create change at an individual and a community level with huge implications.
Young people find their voice and start to develop the necessary skills for good governance, benefiting the health and well-being of the community in the long term.

I want to democratize knowledge on water, sanitation and agriculture (WSA) through an online educational platform that shares high quality content and provides online mentorships. The courses will teach practical knowledge in how to build WSA solutions, so anyone, anywhere, can built them with local materials and local workforce. The target market will be rural communities that are increasingly getting connected to the internet that lack of proper infrastructure on water, sanitation and agriculture on developing countries (by 2020 will be 4 billion additional internet users) and will be based in a freemium model.

The Moringa oleifera tree is one of the most nutrient-dense plants on the planet. It thrives in hot, dry climates with sandy soil. I first started working with the moringa tree six years ago as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Niger, West Africa. After conducting a community-needs assessment, I realized that there was an opportunity to support women in West Africa to plant more moringa trees on degraded land. My goal was to help them earn a sustainable income from selling the powdered leaves, in addition to eating them locally. Upon returning to the US, I founded Kuli Kuli, a mission-driven business that works with moringa farmers in Ghana, Haiti and Nicaragua and sells moringa products in over 3,000 stores across America. Access to UNEP’s resources and network would allow us to continue to scale up our moringa tree plantings and partnerships with farmers around the world.

Kulisha works with food and beverage producers to convert organic waste into sustainable insect protein for use in animal feeds. Food and beverage companies such as breweries and juicers produce huge volumes of by products that are primarily being trucked to landfills as organic waste. We work with them to integrate black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) into their operations and metabolize the waste, rather than using inefficient and expensive disposal methods. We implement automated, retrofitted shipping containers that treat the organic waste and feed it to the larvae, which are then harvested and sold as protein for use in animal feeds. This provides a sustainable, high-quality alternative to fishmeal, thereby addressing a second problem: the demand for fishmeal in animal feeds that is driving the destruction of the world’s oceans. Ultimately, the intent of Kulisha is to reduce pressure on ocean ecosystems.

Novel Supply Co. is a conscious local apparel company. Kaya created a fully closed-loop clothing line with no waste and automated manufacturing. She integrated a research and development hub to test leading-edge technology that decomposes fabrics and tests natural dyes. She also implemented an Extended Producer Responsibility policy by having a Take Back Program for the clothing she produces. Kaya works in partnership with local universities.

Rainmaker Enterprise is an award-winning, scalable and climate adaptive social venture committed to combating deforestation, food insecurity, water scarcity, chronic poverty, women and youth unemployment among other cross-sectional issues in rural South Sudan through provision of clean water using clean solar-energy. The initiative will install solar-powered water pumps and drip-irrigation systems across villages in South Sudan to achieve these objectives. The rest site installation will be in Tonj, South Sudan in December 2017.

To introduce the fermentation food waste recycling process to municipalities and communities, aiming to reduce the amount of organic waste dumped in landfills. Demonstration of concept will be made available for interested parties to visit and see the whole treatment process. They can experience first-hand how easy food waste management is, and how it can be applied in their local communities. Fermentation composting is a two-step process. Organic waste is initially fermented in a closed bin for two weeks and then laid in the ground for it to breakdown. The fermentation process in bins is the added value of the process. There is no need to pick up the organic waste daily from mass producers as it can be done once a week. When food waste is fermented, the system rapidly acidifies. Methane won’t be produced as it can only be produced at a neutral PH. If there is no methane production, then there is no odour.

My idea of producing biodiesel stems from the pressing need to protect the environment from used cooking oil that is improperly disposed of and the excessive use of fossil diesel fuel, which is very harmful to the environment. There is also a need to provide employment opportunities for youths. The aim is to transform the project into an environmental investment that serves both the community and the environment. I have set up a modest, local factory with US$5,000 of funding from the United Nations Development Programme plus $1,000 of my own money. The factory was set up in compliance with international specifications and I successfully produced a 1,000-litre test batch. I hired five employees and sold the test batch, which won consumer approval. Unfortunately, the project could not be sustained due to a lack of funding. I have also set up a small biodiesel lab that yielded excellent results.

Palestine, and the Arab World in general, faces problems with pollution resulting from improper disposal of industrial wastewater. As an environmental engineer, Nareman has worked for two consecutive years researching industrial wastewater. She designed a device that works on the principle of physical adsorption to eliminate pollutants from industrial wastewater rendering the water reusable in the same industry. Tanneries are currently using this method to remove carcinogenic chrome from water with a 99% efficiency rate. The SwitchMed Programme provided support to construct the initial model, but Nareman has higher aspirations to make this device available to all tanneries in Palestine and to expand its use to include the galvanization and dairy industries as well as the production of vehicle lubricants. These industries all use large quantities of water and dump zinc, organic substances, cleaning agents, oils and lubricants into the environment. This solution is part of a national sustainability plan to find ways of supporting industry, protecting the environment, and mitigating water shortages.

BioTreasure aims to improve the livelihoods of at least 1500 rural households in Yemen through the deployment of small-scale biogas plants. The devices are constructed locally. The devices are designed to enable the rapid decomposition of organic waste, maximizing the amount of biogas produced. The project will help to solve three major problems in Yemen: (i) household organic waste, which emits significant amounts of methane gas and is a major contributor to climate change; and (ii) indoor air pollution which causes many people to die each year – in Yemen, over 3 million people still cook over open fires. Additionally, the project will (iii) help to reduce the incidence of certain diseases known to be spread or exacerbated by the dumping of organic waste, such as cholera which has affected nearly half a million Yemenis in 2017 alone.