The 2024 UNESCO Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Conservation was awarded to the Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust (NaDEET), a non-profit organization dedicated to sustainable development and environmental education. It recognizes NaDEET’s significant contributions to promoting sustainability and environmental education in Namibia.
The Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust embodies the fundamental spirit of the UNESCO Man and Biosphere programme and of UNESCO’s core mandate to ‘Build peace in the minds of men and women’. It does so through a constant commitment to building environmental commitment, centre by centre, community by community.
Xing Qu, Deputy Director General of UNESCO
During a ceremony at the World Science Forum in Budapest (Hungary) on 20 November, the UNESCO Sultan Qaboos Prize was awarded to the Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust (NaDEET), a non-profit organisation established in 2003 which operates environmental education centres in and around the NamibRand Nature Reserve.
The Centre’s immersive, hands-on programs work with adults and children to build sustainable practices, including solar cooking, water conservation, and recycling. Their activities encourage participants to live sustainably in one of the world’s most fragile ecosystems. Over 16,000 Namibians have already participated in a NaDEET Centre programme since its founding.
In addition to its Centre-based programs, NaDEET is also extending its impact nationwide through initiatives on education for sustainable development. The 2-year program has trained hundreds of teachers, leading to the implementation of over 740 activities on education for sustainable development in schools across Namibia, reaching more than 75,000 students and teachers.
NaDEET has also played a key role in shaping Namibia’s environmental policies. From 2017-2019, NaDEET was a lead organisation in the drafting and finalisation of the Namibian National Environmental Education and Education for Sustainable Development (EE/ESD) Policy, the first stand-along policy of its kind in southern Africa. The organization’s efforts have been recognized through various accolades, including the 2018 UNESCO-Japan Prize on education for sustainable development.
About the UNESCO Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Conservation
Launched in 1991 through a generous donation from Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al Said of Oman, the UNESCO Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Conservation recognizes, every two years, outstanding contributions to the management and conservation of the environment and raising awareness on the importance of environmental conservation for human well-being. The prize includes a US$100,000 award.