Nominate Now for CPF's Wangari Maathai Award!

Thee Wangari Maathai Forest Champions Award is an honour granted to individuals who have made extraordinary efforts to improve the world's forests and the lives of people who depend on them.

The jury will select a winner based on outstanding contributions to conserve, restore and sustainably manage forests. This year, particular emphasis will be placed on achievements in:

• reducing forest loss
• increasing forest area
• increasing the use of sustainably grown wood and non-wood products
• building resilient forest communities, and
• improving livelihoods and youth engagement.

Nominations related to grassroots and youth-led initiatives are especially encouraged.

Along with international recognition, the winner will receive a cash prize of USD 20 000 and will be invited to attend an award ceremony at the 27th Session of the FAO Committee on Forestry (COFO) which will take place 22-26 July 2024 in Rome.

The CPF launched the first Wangari Maathai Forest Champions Award in 2012 to honour and commemorate the impact of the late Kenyan environmentalist, who championed forest issues across the globe.

Previous Wangari Maathai Forest Champion Award winners are Nepalese community forestry movement leader Narayan Kaji Shrestha (2012), Mexican environmental campaigner Martha Isabel ‘Pati' Ruiz Corzo (2014), Ugandan forestry activist Gertrude Kabusimbi Kenyangi (2015), Brazilian forestry activist Maria Margarida Ribeiro da Silva (2017), Burundian forestry activist Léonidas Nzigiyimpa (2019), and Cameroonian activist and social forester Cécile Ndjebet (2022).

The 2022 winner Cécile Ndjebet will be a keynote speaker at the 26^th IUFRO World Congress in Stockholm this June!

More information about the Wangari Maathai Forest Champions Award and how to make a nomination is available in English, French and Spanish.