As natural systems endure extraordinary strain, acknowledging the people who champion significant progress has become vital to preserving life across the planet.The MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity showcases these contributions and broadens their influence around the globe.
The global community keeps working to halt and reverse biodiversity loss while also addressing interconnected pressures such as climate change, food security, and human well-being. Within this context, international recognition programs play a vital role by showcasing successful approaches, spreading knowledge, and inspiring action across different sectors and regions. A prominent illustration of this is the MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity, an international award dedicated to honoring individuals whose contributions have delivered a concrete impact on conserving and sustainably managing the planet’s biological diversity.
The nomination phase for the 2026 edition of the MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity is currently in progress, encouraging the public to put forward individuals whose work demonstrates exceptional leadership, innovative methods, and enduring impact. Entries may be submitted from 2 February to 31 March 2026 through the official platform of the AEON Environmental Foundation. By allowing open participation, the Prize reinforces its commitment to transparency and inclusion, ensuring that valuable contributions from diverse regions and disciplines receive recognition on a global scale.
An honor designed to elevate biodiversity to a prominent place on the global agenda
The MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity was established to highlight how essential biodiversity is for maintaining resilient ecosystems and supporting human life. Robust biodiversity sustains food production, helps regulate the climate, safeguards water supplies, and bolsters economic well-being and cultural heritage. Yet biodiversity loss has intensified in recent years, propelled by habitat degradation, pollution, unsustainable resource use, and the impacts of climate change.
Against this backdrop, the Prize serves not only as an award but also as a platform for awareness. By highlighting individual achievements, it draws public attention to practical solutions and reinforces the message that committed leadership can generate tangible environmental outcomes. The recognition offered by the Prize helps bridge the gap between scientific knowledge, policy development, and on-the-ground implementation, encouraging collaboration across disciplines and sectors.
Since its inception, the Prize has honored individuals whose work spans a wide range of fields, from scientific research and community-based conservation to policy advocacy and environmental education. This diversity reflects an understanding that biodiversity conservation cannot be achieved through isolated efforts, but requires coordinated action that integrates science, governance, and societal engagement.
At the heart of the initiative lies a commitment to worldwide collaboration
The MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity is jointly organized by the AEON Environmental Foundation and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), a collaboration that unites a philanthropic institution with a leading body in global environmental governance to ensure the Prize reflects international biodiversity goals while staying closely connected to practical, real‑world outcomes.
The Convention on Biological Diversity, adopted in 1992, provides the principal global framework for biodiversity conservation, sustainable use, and the fair sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources. Through its involvement, the CBD Secretariat helps position the MIDORI Prize within broader international efforts, linking individual achievements to collective global goals.
The 2026 Award Ceremony and Award Winners Forum will be held on 27 August 2026 in Tokyo, Japan, gatherings anticipated to strengthen global momentum prior to the seventeenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD (COP 17), scheduled to convene in Yerevan, Armenia. COP 17 will take place under the theme “Taking action for Nature,” emphasizing practical delivery and accountability at a crucial moment for worldwide biodiversity commitments.
Celebrating outstanding achievements across diverse fields of endeavor
A defining trait of the MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity is its capacity to celebrate remarkable contributions across diverse sectors, and rather than focusing on just one field, the Prize acknowledges that substantial progress in biodiversity conservation stems from interconnected scientific, social, and political efforts.
Historically, these award categories have covered practical execution, scientific inquiry, and both policy development and public education. Individuals honored for implementation are usually those who transform knowledge into real-world action, delivering conservation outcomes through on-the-ground projects, partnerships with local communities, or responsible resource stewardship. Recipients recognized for science and research deepen insight into ecosystems, species, and ecological processes, providing the evidence needed to guide informed decisions. At the same time, those acknowledged for policy and enlightenment play an essential role in crafting legislation, shaping governance, and elevating public understanding.
This comprehensive approach reflects the intricate nature of biodiversity challenges and stresses that no single route can stand alone. By acknowledging accomplishments across these areas, the Prize fosters dialogue among sectors and underscores the importance of coordinated, integrated strategies.
A decade shaped by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
The significance of the MIDORI Prize has steadily increased alongside the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), approved during the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD in 2022. This Framework serves as a worldwide roadmap designed to stop and reverse biodiversity decline by 2030, outlining 23 practical targets aimed at confronting the main causes of ecological degradation while advancing sustainable use and fair benefit-sharing.
Achieving the ambitions of the KMGBF calls for a society-wide effort that brings together governments, the private sector, civil society, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and individual citizens. The MIDORI Prize strongly supports this vision by celebrating individuals who showcase leadership and inventive approaches in advancing these goals. In doing so, it transforms the Framework’s targets into tangible examples of progress, making once-abstract objectives clearer and more accessible.
As the 2030 deadline approaches, the urgency to scale meaningful solutions becomes increasingly clear, and recognition initiatives such as the MIDORI Prize can accelerate this momentum by highlighting successful strategies and encouraging their implementation in a wide range of contexts.
Shaping a heritage of far‑reaching global influence
Since it was established during the International Year of Biodiversity in 2010, the MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity has recognized 21 individuals from 20 countries. This geographic diversity underscores the global nature of biodiversity challenges and the universal relevance of conservation efforts. From tropical forests and coral reefs to urban ecosystems and agricultural landscapes, the work of past recipients demonstrates that impactful action can take many forms.
The heritage of the Prize extends far beyond recognizing individuals, as its award ceremonies and associated forums open opportunities to share knowledge, form networks, and foster cooperation, enabling winners to reflect on their experiences and learn from one another. These exchanges help cultivate a global community of practice dedicated to biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.
Furthermore, public acknowledgment can boost an awardee’s profile and trustworthiness, helping them obtain funding, shape policy decisions, and grow their programs. In doing so, the Prize serves as a powerful driver that amplifies individual contributions and supports wider systemic transformation.
Community involvement and the selection process
By inviting the public to submit nominations, the MIDORI Prize reinforces the idea that safeguarding biodiversity is a shared responsibility, allowing communities, organizations, and individuals to highlight initiatives that might remain overlooked, particularly in regions or disciplines where acknowledgment is scarce.
The nomination window for the 2026 Prize extends from 2 February to 31 March 2026, during which entries are evaluated using criteria that highlight measurable results, inventive approaches, and consistency with global biodiversity goals. By following this review process, the Prize aims to recognize individuals whose work provides meaningful insights and motivates others engaged in the same field.
Public participation in the nomination process also serves an educational purpose, helping expand public insight into biodiversity challenges and the people striving to address them. As individuals look into potential nominees and their work, they develop a more concrete understanding of the practical efforts that support environmental sustainability.
Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond
As global attention turns toward COP 17 and the ongoing implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, initiatives like the MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity play an increasingly important role. They help maintain momentum, celebrate progress, and remind the international community that individual leadership remains a powerful driver of change.
The 2026 Award Ceremony and Award Winners Forum in Tokyo are expected to provide an opportunity for meaningful dialogue and reflection at a pivotal time for biodiversity governance, and by uniting award recipients, policymakers, scholars, and practitioners, these gatherings will cultivate collective understanding and highlight the pressing need for coordinated action.
Across the decade poised to define the planet’s biological diversity, recognizing and supporting those who set the benchmark becomes not just symbolic but a strategic pledge to the ideas, practices, and partnerships vital for safeguarding nature now and in the future. The MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity stands as compelling proof of the impact that committed individuals can achieve when their work is acknowledged, amplified, and connected to global sustainability efforts.
