Indigenous knowledge, traditions and lifestyles are integral to all the SDGs, and Indigenous peoples and local communities have emerged as a beacon of hope amidst intensifying planetary crises. These remarkable custodians of the Earth's most essential ecosystems, which are home to a staggering 80 percent of the world's biodiversity and immense stocks of carbon, hold the key to keeping our planet within safe planetary boundaries.
This year’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day promotes the key role of Indigenous young people in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Equator Prize will be awarded to outstanding groups in line with the groundbreaking Global Biodiversity Framework, which was agreed on in late 2022.
It came after UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, said that destroying the delicate tapestry of a biodiverse world is akin to “committing suicide by proxy”.
This year’s theme, “Indigenous youth as agents of change for self-determination,” shines a spotlight on the vital role played by young people in shaping our collective future.
Indigenous people have always been leaders in environmental protection. There are an estimated 476 million living in more than 90 countries. And although they make up less than five percent of the world’s population, they represent 15 percent of the poorest.
Ten organizations have been chosen for this year’s US$15,000 prize. Here are the ways they are contributing to both their communities and all of humankind through the SDGs.
When crop-destroying insects known as ‘soldiers’ appeared in Bujumbura, Burundi, they struck fear into the hearts of its residents, 95 percent of whom rely on subsistence farming.
Chemical insect control had no effect on the infestation, and with nothing to stop them, the ‘soldiers’ rampaged freely on their deadly campaign.
Perfect Village Communities (PVC) one of the finalist in this year’s United Nations’ led Equator Prize decided to take another approach.
The Indigenous organization, which champions biodiversity as a way of tackling hunger and poverty, is restoring traditional farming practices and promoting better health. Its founder and CEO, Parfait Mugisha, a nurse, saw the need when he noticed the direct link between environmental degradation and his communities’ health.
“The aim is to alleviate this suffering by teaching environmental stewardship, ethical farming techniques and regenerative soil cultivation,” he said.
Since the ‘soldiers’ were impervious to conventional insect control, PVC responded with its own natural bio insect-control methods, to stunning effect.
“All insects vanished from the crop after two applications,” Mr Mugisha said
In Zambia, a country that struggles with very high levels of unemployment amongst young people, the Indigenous Young Emerging Farmers Initiative (YEFI) is providing opportunities in sustainable agriculture.
Zambia has also suffered from declining food yields in recent years and soil health has been rapidly declining. More than 100,000 trees are cut down every year.
“Over the past decades, the food system has not been performing well with farmers continuing to suffer majority being under the poverty line. Production and productivity has been very poor among small-scale farmers who use a lot of synthetic chemicals and fertilizers,” says YEFI co-founder Richard Kachungu.
A healthy agricultural sector is a must for the country’s economy. It employs more than 60 percent of the labour force, mostly women. The role of young people is even more important—more than 70 percent of Zambians are under 35.
Through the ‘My Farm My Swag Campaign’, YEFI has been influencing policy, establishing sustainable markets and financing. The aim is to make money at the same time as fighting for a just food system. Young people have planted more than 6,000 trees and have conserved more than 10,000 hectares of forest.
Pollution and climate change are slowly killing Bolivia’s Lake Uru Uru. Every minute sees mining waste and garbage dumped into the lake, as well as sewage from the city of Oruro.
This lake is the home of an Indigenous community and one of the most important wetlands in the world.
To rescue it, the Indigenous community has taken to the water. They have built rafts and embarked on a journey that applies Indigenous knowledge with scientific principles.
The rafts are made of recycled materials collected from the rubbish thrown away around the lake. Host and native plants such as totora and chijway are being fostered to absorb heavy metals.
The team has also planted a community garden to feed themselves. They are determined through their efforts not to become climate refugees, as has happened to others.
“Similar cases occurred in our region, and communities have lost their source of survival and are forced to become climate refugees. It brings many problems, such as economic limitations, loss of cultural identity, early forced marriages, etc. This tends to affect our sisters in the community more. However, with the project, sisters are leading the way and teaching us the best management skills for the entire community,” Gabriela Tronconi, Head of AJMUN Oruro says.
The Instituto Zág was awarded for its work bringing the sacred Zág tree (Araucária angustifolia), back from the brink of extinction. Before they began their ambitious reforestation programme, the Zág had dwindled to only two percent of its original area.
The Zág has been part of the cosmovision of the Xokleng people of southern Brazil for thousands of years. Besides providing nutritious food for humans and animals, it also has spiritual, ancestral, medicinal, therapeutic and hygiene value for Indigenous women.
“It also means the continuity of the wisdom and action of our ancestors. In this sense, reforestation is just one step in this fight: the territory needs to be preserved, including so that seedlings have a chance on their long path to maturity,” says Carl Gakran, President of Instituto Zág.
Instituto Zág is also taking other measures to defend the Lãklãno Xokleng territory by removing invasive tree species and valuing ancestral traditions and culture. The ultimate goal is to remove the Zág from the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s extreme risk of extinction list.
Indigenous peoples have sought recognition of their identities, their way of life and their rights for years. They are arguably among the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups of people in the world, yet still remain at the forefront of climate action. The international community now recognizes that special measures are required to protect their rights and maintain their distinct cultures.
© 2026 United Nations Development Programme
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