November 17, 2016

The Rainforest Foundation UK was in Marrakech, Morroco this week to accept the 2016 'Momentum for Change' award, presented by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The award ceremony, held during the COP22 climate conference, was an opportunity to showcase innovative initiatives from around the world that offer real solutions to address climate change.

This prestigious prize was awarded to our MappingForRights project in the Congo Basin, which has so far supported around 700 communities across two million hectares of Africa's Congo Basin to produce maps of their lands and resources. The MappingForRights project helps people and the planet by engaging forest communities in real-time forest monitoring and empowering them to map and take control of their lands, territories and resources.

Joe Eisen, RFUK's Research and Policy Coordinator, and Rodrigue Ngonzo of Forêts et Développement Rural, (FODER) in Cameroon, accepted the Momentum for Change award on behalf of RFUK and all our dedicated partners.

“I am extremely proud to accept this award on behalf of the amazing team of people at RFUK and our partners in tropical forest countries behind MappingForRights," said Joe Eisen after receiving the award. "This provides further recognition of the role of such simple and low-cost technologies in empowering forest peoples on the frontline of deforestation to map, monitor and ultimately protect their lands. While we take a moment to enjoy the recognition, the job is far from done. As tropical forests are under unprecedented pressure from extractive industries and industrial agricultural expansion, the need for scaling up this work is greater than ever.”

To watch a recording of the Momentum for Change award ceremony, please click here.

Photo | Joe Eisen and Rodrigue Ngonzo (Credit:FODER)

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