The CityAdapt LAC project has won the Kipepeo award from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in the environmental impact category. Launched in 2021, the Kipepeo Awards recognize teams and projects that have demonstrated exceptional performance and dedication to achieving UNEP’s objectives, the Medium Term Strategy (MTS) 2022-2025 and the objectives of the Secretariat’s Multilateral Environmental Agreements. It has three categories: innovation, collaborative team and environmental impact, and it is in this latter group that CityAdapt, together with Shade for Life, stood out among the 16 nominations.
CityAdapt LAC is a project implemented in the Latin American and Caribbean region, and funded by the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). It began in 2017 in three pilot cities: Kingston (Jamaica), San Salvador (El Salvador) and Xalapa (Mexico), and has a triple focus: (i) strengthen capacities and facilitate the integration of Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) in medium and long-term urban development planning; (ii) implement pilot to increase climate resilience of communities; and (iii) improve knowledge and raise awareness about urban EbA.
The UNEP Kipepeo Awards are inclusive and open to all types of UNEP projects and initiatives. The finalists and winners are selected by three panels that review the nominations under each category. The various aspects of a project are scored with a matrix and points system, and the evaluation panel presents a short list of three candidates for the Executive Director’s consideration.
We are proud that CityAdapt LAC has won this third edition of the Kipepeo Awards, demonstrating its outstanding impact in advancing the environmental agenda at the local, national and regional level, and demonstrating its sustainability and scalability in the region.
Congratulations to the CityAdapt LAC team!
By the way, did you know that Kipepeo means butterfly in Swahili? 😊
