Prince Albert II of Monaco has led the 2024 edition of the Planetary Health Awards, an annual event that honours pioneering individuals, companies and institutions for their efforts to safeguard the environment and promote conservation and environmental protections. This year’s laureates included Instituto Juma, Professor Lidia Morawska and NatureMetrics.
On Thursday, 7th November, Prince Albert II of Monaco took to the stage at the Salle Garnier to speak about the importance of collective action and cooperation in front of a truly international audience gathered for the 17th edition of the Planetary Health Awards.
The event itself is organised by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and was created as a platform to recognise, celebrate and champion the outstanding contributions of environmental activists, scientists, private companies, NGOs and non-profit organisations in the realms of conservation and environmental protection.
“That is the spirit of this Foundation,” said Prince Albert in his opening speech. “Since its creation in 2006, [the Foundation] has always been built upon the imperative of collective action. In times when the world is so divided, when it is so difficult to agree on basic values, this spirit is more than ever necessary. We therefore need to keep innovating and identifying both the dangers and opportunities.”
The Prince continued, “It is the responsibility of all of us to leave our children a planet in better health, one that is not condemned to destruction or injustice; to be aware of the dangers as well as our responsibility; to be both clear-eyed and determined.”
2024 Award Winners
The 2024 edition of the Planetary Health Awards honoured three distinct winners: the Instituto Juma of Brazil; Professor Lidia Morawska, a Polish-Australian physicist; and NatureMetrics, an environmental biotechnology company specialising in the use of DNA-based techniques.
The Instituto Juma is a non-profit organisation founded in October 2020 by indigenous leader Juma Xipaia. Focused on conserving the Juma Reserve and surrounding ecosystems through a combination of sustainable development practices, environmental education and scientific research, the institute works to protect biodiversity, promote carbon offset programmes and support local communities in adopting eco-friendly livelihoods to combat deforestation and climate change.
Speaking at the event, Xipaia said, “It takes courage to change the world that we need and that the future generation deserves… There are plenty of treaties and agreements about climate change, and we have enough of that. What is lacking now is transforming this knowledge into action. I believe it is important for us to assume and realise that it is our actions that are creating those changes and that it is through our actions that we can reverse that. I come from a land very far away, but we happen to be in the same sphere, on the same planet, in the same boat.”
Professor Lidia Morawska is a renowned scientist and expert in air quality and environmental health, best known for her pioneering research on the role of airborne particles in the spread of infectious diseases and her work advancing the understanding of indoor air pollution’s impact on public health.
Upon receiving the award, Professor Morawska said, “I have dedicated my life to the study of air and the impact of its quality on human health and the environment. The complexity and interdisciplinary nature of this field of science never ceases to fascinate me and inspire me to explore further. My dream is for my work to be one small pillar in keeping this planet habitable, with a clean and unpolluted atmosphere, and filling our indoor spaces with pollution-free air to help us thrive.”
The third winner, NatureMetrics, is a world leader in the provision of nature data and information. It was founded in 2014 by Dr. Kat Bruce, a biodiversity scientist.
Pippa Howard, NatureMetrics’ Chief Nature Strategist and the person who accepted the award on the company’s behalf, said, “I just came back from COP16 where reports were released that our planet is in crisis and biodiversity is in catastrophic decline. This impacts every one of us: our economies, our livelihoods, our health and our ability to be resilient in the face of a changing climate. It was reinforced to me just how vital it is – to the protection and restoration of our planet – that we need to communicate more simply the state of nature to help us make better decisions, to encourage the flow of action, capacity and financial resources to deliver on the goal of protecting and restoring our ecosystems. We all need to rally to action.”
In addition to the prestigious awards, the event spotlighted the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation’s commitment to supporting young scientists. A special segment of the evening saw Prince Albert present diplomas to students of the IPCC Scholarship Programme in recognition of their research on climate change and its impacts. The Prince’s eponymous foundation, along with the Cuomo Foundation and Moët Hennessy, is a key programme partner.
Following the awards ceremony, a roundtable discussion with the evening’s winners provided insights into addressing global environmental challenges. The discussion showcased the potential of blending traditional knowledge with scientific innovation in the fight for better planetary health.
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Photos credit: Philippe Fitte / Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation
