Winners of the 2024 Local Adaptation Champions Awards featured four innovative adaptation initiatives empowering communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis.
13 November 2024, BAKU – Four winners of the 2024 Local Adaptation Champions Awards, organized by the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), have been announced at an awards ceremony at the COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The Awards reward exemplary locally led efforts to address climate change impacts and build effective resilience. Some 870 applications were submitted across four categories: Food Security, Water Security, Local Entrepreneurship, and Urban Adaptation Solutions. Each of the four winners received €15,000 to invest in future activities and will benefit from sponsorship by the Adaptation Fund.
“These Awards are an opportunity to celebrate the best and brightest of community-led local adaptation measures around the world tackling the impacts from climate change head-on. As the climate crisis escalates, these inspiring initiatives can be a blueprint of how to build resilience from the grassroots,” said Professor Patrick Verkooijen, Chief Executive Officer of the Global Center on Adaptation.
The winners were selected from a shortlist of 21 outstanding projects. They represent the diverse activities and geographic scope of locally led efforts to combat the impacts of climate change, at a time when they are needed more than ever.
The Local Entrepreneurship category was won by Aliet Green, a woman-owned enterprise in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. In Indonesia’s Kulon Progo region – where prolonged droughts and floods have wreaked havoc on coconut sugar production – Aliet Green is empowering local farmers with affordable and easy-to-use climate-smart technologies.
New technologies, such as the 3R (recharge-retain-reuse) water management system; and better adapted crops, such as dwarf coconut trees, introduced by Aliet Green have empowered more than 1,500 smallholder farmers, the majority of whom are women, to adopt climate-resilient farming practices. By introducing these practices, the enterprise has helped safeguard more than 500 hectares of land.
Lastiana Yulandari, CEO of Aliet Green, said: “We are here to equip farmers with the tools and knowledge they need to adapt to an increasingly unpredictable climate. Our aim is to create a future where sustainable farming benefits both people and the planet. Empowering farmers, especially women and those with disabilities, has been our priority. By supporting their livelihoods and providing equal opportunities, we are fostering a more inclusive agricultural system”.
The Award winners were selected by a prestigious judging panel, comprising:
- Ban Ki-moon, Chair of the Global Center on Adaptation Board and 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations
- Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of Tanzania
- Anne Beathe Tvinnereim, Minister of International Development, Norway
- Anneliese Dodds, Minister for Development, United Kingdom
- Professor Patrick Verkooijen, Chief Executive Officer of the Global Center on Adaptation
You can also click the link : https://llahub.gca.org/llachampions