• On the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), through its Equator Initiative, announced the ten winners of the Equator Prize 2025. 

• This award is presented annually to honour nature-based solutions led by Indigenous Peoples and local communities that promote sustainable development and ecological resilience.

• It recognises outstanding community efforts to reduce poverty through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

• This year’s winners — from Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, Peru, and Tanzania — showcase the power of nature-based solutions led by communities on the frontlines of climate change.

• The Bibifathima Swa Sahaya Sangha (Bibifathima Self Help Group), a women-led initiative from Karnataka, is among the winners of the award this year.

• Selected from a highly competitive pool of over 700 nominations from 103 countries, the 2025 Equator Prize winners exemplify this year’s theme, “Nature for Climate Action”, with a special focus on youth and women-led climate action. 

• With the 2025 winners, the Equator Prize network now includes over 300 community-based organisations from 84 countries honored since the Prize’s launch in 2002. 

• The winners will receive $10,000, be honoured at a high-level online ceremony later this year and may join global events, including the UN General Assembly and the UN Climate Change Conference, COP30, taking place in Brazil later this year.

Bibifathima Swa Sahaya Sangha (Bibifathima Self Help Group)

• Founded in 2018 in Teertha, Karnataka, the Bibi Fatima Self Help Group (SHG) is a women-led grassroots initiative transforming rural livelihoods through sustainable agriculture, women’s empowerment, and climate resilience. 

• Starting as a savings group of 15 women, it now supports over 5,000 farmers across 30 villages, promoting millet-based multi-cropping, solar-powered processing units, and seed banks conserving over 250 indigenous varieties. 

• These efforts restore biodiversity, boost food security, and create jobs for marginalised women and youth. 

• By integrating traditional knowledge with regenerative agriculture, renewable energy, and market access, the Self Help Group addresses environmental and socio-economic challenges.

International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples

The UN observes International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on August 9. It marks the date of the inaugural session of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations at the United Nations in 1982.

Manorama Yearbook app is now available on Google Play Store and iOS App Store