October 2012: The UN Development Programme (UNDP) has launched the Equator Initiative Case Study Database, which contains 127 case studies of Equator Prize winners along with a publication by the Equator Initiative drawing 12 key lessons from the awardees.

The Equator Prize is awarded for local best practices in biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction. The cases highlight how the projects were catalyzed, ideas generated, and institutional frameworks and governance systems designed. The cases outline the projects’ impacts on biodiversity, socio-economic conditions and policy. The accompanying publication, titled “The Power of Local Action: Lessons from 10 Years of the Equator Prize,” analyzes the cases, and provides targeted policy guidance based on these.

The 12 key findings include that: community empowerment enhances conservation efforts; community-based action delivers the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); secure land tenure and property rights are needed; and local good governance exists.

The database and publication are being launched on the sidelines of the 11th Conference of the Parties (COP 11) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). [Equator Initiative Case Study Database] [Publication: The Power of Local Action: Lessons from 10 Years of the Equator Prize]