Nominations open for The MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity 2014

Tokyo/Montreal, 28 February 2014 – Bringing international recognition and a substantial monetary prize to three outstanding individuals, nominations are now invited for The MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity 2014. The call for nominations remains open from 1 March to 31 May 2014.

The MIDORI Prize, a biennial international prize co-organized by the AEON Environmental Foundation and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), honours individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Established by the AEON Environmental Foundation during the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity, the Prize aims to encourage positive action for biodiversity and inspire others by showcasing the notable work of those it honours. This year marks the third time that the MIDORI Prize is being awarded.

Takuya Okada, Chairman of the AEON Environmental Foundation and Honorary Chairman of AEON Co., Ltd., said: “The prevention of climate change and the conservation of biodiversity are two of the greatest challenges of our time. We hope that the MIDORI Prize will contribute to meeting this global challenge, to the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, and to the objectives of the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity 2011-2020.”

Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, CBD Executive Secretary, said: “The MIDORI Prize, the unique international prize dedicated to biodiversity, will contribute to raising public awareness on the essential role of biodiversity to humanity and to the objectives of the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity.”

The Prize will be awarded at a special ceremony organized in conjunction with the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea, in October 2014.
Nominations are invited from members of the public through the MIDORI Prize website,
www.midoripress-aeon.net/.