Partner organization in Benin wins Equator Prize

IUCN NL partner organization Centre Régional de Recherche et d’Education pour un Développement Intégré (CREDI) is one of the winners of the Equator Prize 2019, which honors community initiatives that advance solutions for climate change and strengthen communal life.

Header photo: Sitatunga (c) CREDI

CREDI received the prize for their creation of an agroecological farm and a 67,000-hectare Community Natural Park. “Their work harmonizes local communities with nature and puts youth at the center of climate mitigation,” says Jan Kamstra of IUCN NL. “Their work centers around the set up and management by local communities of the “Sitatunga Valley” nature reserve, an area in Southern Benin that is rich in biodiversity.”

The Sitatunga is a threatened species of ‘swamp’ antelope. “The reserve has been the first in Benin to be formally recognized as a Community Based Protected Area,” Kamstra states. IUCN NL has been supporting CREDI since 2007.

The Equator prize honors 22 community initiatives that advance solutions for climate change and strengthen communal life. The award ceremony will take place in New York on 24 September 2019.