As ecosystems face unprecedented pressure, recognizing individuals who drive meaningful change has become essential to sustaining life on Earth. The MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity highlights those efforts and amplifies their impact worldwide.
The global community continues to seek effective ways to halt and reverse biodiversity loss while addressing interconnected challenges such as climate change, food security, and human well-being. Within this context, international recognition initiatives play a crucial role in elevating successful approaches, sharing knowledge, and inspiring action across sectors and borders. One such initiative is the MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity, an international award dedicated to honoring individuals whose work has made a measurable difference in the conservation and sustainable use of 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.
A distinction crafted to bring biodiversity to the forefront of 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.
Set against this context, the Prize functions not only as an accolade but also as a vehicle for raising awareness, showcasing notable individual efforts to capture public attention with practical responses and emphasizing that dedicated leadership can deliver concrete environmental results. Through its recognition, the Prize narrows the divide between scientific insight, policy formation, and real-world action, fostering cooperation among different fields and sectors.
Since it was first established, the Prize has celebrated individuals whose contributions extend across numerous domains, ranging from scientific inquiry and community-driven conservation to policy advocacy and environmental education. This breadth underscores the understanding that safeguarding biodiversity cannot be accomplished through isolated initiatives, but instead relies on coordinated efforts that blend science, governance, and active public involvement.
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. These events are expected to contribute to global momentum around the seventeenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD (COP 17), scheduled to take place in Yerevan, Armenia. COP 17 will be convened under the theme “Taking action for Nature,” emphasizing implementation and accountability during a critical phase for global biodiversity commitments.
Celebrating outstanding achievements across diverse fields of endeavor
One hallmark of the MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity is its ability to honor outstanding achievements across a range of fields, and instead of centering on a single discipline, the Prize recognizes that meaningful advances in biodiversity conservation rely on complementary efforts that span scientific, social, and political spheres.
Historically, the award categories have encompassed implementation, science and research, as well as policy and enlightenment. Recipients recognized for implementation are typically those who turn knowledge into practical efforts, achieving conservation results through field initiatives, community collaboration, or sustainable resource management. Honorees in science and research enhance understanding of ecosystems, species, and ecological dynamics, offering the evidence required for sound decision-making. Meanwhile, awardees in policy and enlightenment play a pivotal part in shaping legislation, influencing governance structures, and heightening public awareness.
This comprehensive approach mirrors the complex realities of biodiversity challenges and highlights that no single pathway can succeed in isolation. By recognizing achievements across these dimensions, the Prize encourages cross‑sector dialogue and emphasizes the value of cohesive, well‑integrated strategies.
A decade shaped by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
The importance of the MIDORI Prize has grown consistently as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) gained adoption, a plan ratified at the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD in 2022. This Framework functions as a global guide intended to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, presenting 23 actionable targets that address the primary drivers of ecological damage while promoting sustainable use and equitable benefit-sharing.
Achieving the ambitions of the KMGBF requires a whole-of-society approach, involving governments, the private sector, civil society, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and individuals. The MIDORI Prize directly supports this vision by recognizing individuals who embody leadership and innovation in advancing these objectives. In doing so, it helps translate the Framework’s targets into visible examples of progress, making abstract goals more tangible and relatable.
As the 2030 deadline approaches, the importance of scaling up effective solutions becomes increasingly clear. Recognition initiatives such as the MIDORI Prize can accelerate this process by amplifying successful models and encouraging their replication in different 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 celebrated 21 individuals from 20 countries, underscoring the global nature of biodiversity challenges and the collective value of conservation. Covering tropical rainforests, coral reefs, urban landscapes, and agricultural lands, the work of past laureates illustrates that substantial advances can arise through a wide variety of strategies.
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 engagement and the selection procedure
By inviting nominations from members of the public, the MIDORI Prize reinforces the idea that biodiversity conservation is a shared responsibility. This open approach allows communities, organizations, and individuals to highlight work that might otherwise remain under-recognized, particularly in regions or sectors with limited visibility.
The nomination period for the 2026 Prize runs from 2 February to 31 March 2026. Submissions are reviewed according to criteria that emphasize tangible impact, innovation, and alignment with global biodiversity objectives. Through this process, the Prize seeks to identify individuals whose contributions offer valuable lessons and inspiration for others working in the 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.
In a decade that will define the future of the planet’s biological diversity, recognizing and supporting those who lead by example is more than symbolic. It is a strategic investment in the ideas, practices, and partnerships needed to safeguard nature for present and future generations. The MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity stands as a testament to the impact that dedicated individuals can have when their work is acknowledged, amplified, and connected to global efforts for sustainability.
