2 August 2012: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has announced the five winners of the World Environment Day (WED) Challenge 2012. UNEP announced winners from Kenya, Colombia, Australia, India and Bangladesh, who will each win a fuel-efficient car.

Awardees include: in the category of delivering effective and substantive impact, Fundacion Ecoprogreso, for their efforts at protecting mangrove lagoons around Cartagena, Colombia; also in the category of delivering effective and substantive impact, Maji Mazuri Centre International, for its work with youth to improve waste management in Nairobi, Kenya; in the category of activity mobilization, the Sunshine Coast, Australia, for its annual WED festival; in the category best supporting the WED theme “Green Economy: Does It Include You?,” Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha, for its work in Dhaka, Bangladesh, celebrating WED through a solar-powered boat rally; and in the category of most creative, unique and fun, Hand in Hand, India, for its commemoration of WED through bringing together 570 volunteers to create a colorful Rangoli carpet based on environmental themes. [UNEP Press Release] [UN Press Release]