UNEP announces 2003 recipients of Sasakawa Environment Prize

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, October 27, 2003

UNEP announces 2003 recipients of Sasakawa Environment Prize

United Nations Environment Program(UNEP) announced the 2003 Sasakawa Environment Prize Monday in Nirobi.

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United Nations Environment Program(UNEP) announced the 2003 Sasakawa Environment Prize Monday in Nirobi.

Xie Zhenhua of China, who has worked tirelessly to promote the cause of environmental protection in the world's most populous country and fastest growing economy, is co-winner of this year's Sasakawa prize, the Nairobi-based UNEP said in a statement.

He is joined by Dener Jose Giovanani of Brazil, whose innovative approach to curbing illegal wildlife trafficking has become a model not only in Latin America but also for the rest of the developing world, UNEP said.

The prize, worth 200,000 US dollars, which will be shared equally by the two winners, is considered one of the most prestigious environmental awards in the world, according to UNEP.

Xie, minister of State Environmental Protection Administration of China, and Giovanini, founder of the National Network for Combating Wild Animal Trafficking, will receive the prize from Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan on Nov. 19 in New York, the United States.

"Both individuals have demonstrated, one at the governmental and the other at the grass-roots level, how the complex and apparently insoluble problems facing the world can be tackled. Both have shown vision, patience, pragmatism and an understanding of the need to engage and encourage numerous actors and partners if sustainable development is to be realized," Klause Topfer, UNEP's executive director, was quoted as saying.

Topfer noted that "it had, until recently, been an almost unchallenged belief that China's dramatic economic growth threatens the environment and health of the regions as well as the world. By working through national, regional and local governments, Mr. Xie has shown that this does not have to be the case. He has demonstrated that economic growth can occur without sacrificing the water, air and land upon which we all depend."

"Mr. Giovanini's achievements towards curbing illegal wildlife trafficking highlight how creative solutions to one of the world's biggest illegal trades can only succeed if the root cause -- namely poverty -- is also tackled. His success is even more outstanding when one considers the constant death threats and intimidation aimed at him by those eager to see him fail," Topfer added.

The UNEP Sasakawa Environment Prize, sponsored by the Nippon Foundation and founded by the late Ryoichi Sasakawa, has been awarded annually since 1984 to individuals who have made outstanding global contributions to the management and protection of the environment.

Past winners include: Nobel laureate Mario Molina, for discovering a new reaction sequence involving chlorine peroxide, which accounts for most of the ozone destruction in the Antarctic;Ian Kiernan of Australia, founder of the Clean Up the World campaign in which more than 120 countries participate.

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