As every year, Rolex finance five sustainable projects, and the five laureates of the Rolex Awards for 2021 initiative have been announced. Each project is committed to a future of well-being, and will receive funding to advance and improve the planet. The Laureates, from Brazil, Chad, Nepal, the United Kingdom and the United States, have a strong connection to the environment. They are fighting every day to conserve our ecosystems.
The Rolex Awards, created 45 years ago to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Oyster watch, support and give a voice to innovative and sustainable projects. Since then, Rolex has funded five sustainable projects. Through the programme, it aims to encourage and promote values that represent them: determination, innovation and entrepreneurship. The main objective is to give access to projects from all over the world with the potential to improve human comfort. The environment is suffering more and more, and it is essential to raise awareness of the reality of the planet in order to preserve the ecosystem, protect the oceans and maintain species.
The 2021 Laureates
Felix Brooks-Church
US social entrepreneur tackling malnutrition in Tanzania by equipping rural flour mills with a “dosing” machine. Adding essential micronutrients to enrich staple foods.
Felix Brooks-Church next to his “dosing” machine, Sanku, in Tanzania
He travelled to Cambodia more than ten years ago on educational projects, where he saw first-hand that many children were suffering from growth hormone deficiency. And that one reason for their cognitive problems was the mothers’ malnutrition. So she decided to co-found and run Sanku in Tanzania. A project that has the potential to save millions of lives from malnutrition.
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim
Climate activist from Chad, who uses indigenous folk wisdom to map natural resources and avoid climate change-induced conflicts in the Sahel. Climate change, along with population growth, has exacerbated tensions between nomadic Mbororo pastoralists and sedentary farmers. Ibrahim is convinced that the best way to manage the conflict is to bring people together.
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, committed to natural resources
He led a small-scale mapping project in Baïbokoum, in south-western Chad, and proved that it is a sustainable and scalable tool for reducing tensions between communities. The Rolex Award will allow him to expand his mapping project to Chad and neighbouring countries.
Rinzin Phuniok Lama
Nepalese scientist and ecologist working in the Trans-Himalayan region protecting the diversity of the ecosystem. It is home to emblematic species on the verge of extinction. His inspiration has been the biologist Rodney Jackson, Rolex Laureate in 1981, who dedicated four decades of his life to protecting the Himalayan snow leopard. Lama not only protects the leopard, but also the Himalayan wolf and black bear, the wild yak, the Tibetan argali and the musk deer.
Rinzin Phuniok Lama, Nepalese environmentalist who goes deep into the Nepalese wilderness to protect animals and the ecosystem
With his project, he plans to improve and expand the conservation activities already underway, as well as to train local people in conservation. He aims to train citizens and citizens to reduce poaching, logging and forest fires. At the same time, he will combine science with traditional wisdom and indigenous Buddhist philosophy to educate the citizens of Humla in environmental conservation.
Gina Moseley
British polar explorer and scientist leading the first expedition to explore the world’s northernmost caves. Aiming to deepen our understanding of climate change in the Arctic.
Gina Moseley inside one of the caves she explores. Researching and documenting every detail that nature can transmit to her.
The six-strong Moseley team will have a long journey ahead of them, travelling long distances on foot for days with 24 hours of daylight. The itinerary includes visits to several caves, many of them little explored. Exploration in northern Greenland is difficult, the location is remote and the costs are extremely high. Thanks to the Rolex Awards and their funding, they will be able to achieve their goals.
Luiz Rocha
Brazilian marine scientist working to protect the mesophotic coral reefs of the Indian Ocean and their biodiversity. He also works on the conservation of these ecosystems. Because so little information is available about them, deep-sea reefs are forgotten or neglected by those who should be legislating to protect them. In this way they want to give them visibility, in order to maintain them.
Luiz Rocha equipped with the right diving suit to descend to deep water reefs.
Rocha’s project will involve three expeditions over two years in collaboration with the Maldives Ministry of Fisheries. It will deepen knowledge about the species that inhabit the reefs, and provide data on conditions and temperature variations over extended periods.
Descents to deep-water reefs are complicated, requiring complex breathing apparatus. These dives are difficult to do, so they will only allow you to dive once a day. Luiz Rocha is one of the few marine scientists capable of undertaking this demanding technical diving.
Rolex, a pillar of sustainable initiatives
The Rolex Awards represent one of the three pillars of the Rolex Perpetual Planet initiative, supporting projects that contribute to a better future. This initiative also includes Sylvia Earle‘s Mission Blue ocean conservation programme. As well as its alliance with National Geographic, a Rolex partner since 1954, to understand climate change through science.
Instead of venturing into the unknown and discovering uncharted lands, the new generation of explorers is committed to protecting the planet. This is why Rolex funds the five sustainable projects each year. They are excellent examples of these guardians of the future, explains Arnaud Boetsch, Director of the Rolex Communication and Image Department.
Considering the director’s statements, we can see how a new young and environmentally committed generation is being formed. They are highlighting what we have on the planet, and the importance of maintaining and preserving it. This is why Rolex funds five sustainable projects each year.
The Laureates were selected by the Rolex Awards jury, a group of ten independent experts from around the world. They specialise in cultural heritage, ecology or conservation. They met virtually in November 2020 to choose from among 15 finalists drawn from 1659 candidates.
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, working in the community with other women and children.
The average age of the participants was barely 40 years old, 34% were women, and more than 50% of the candidates came from the fields of Science and Health, and Environment. “The 155 winning projects over nearly half a century have had a real impact on the world, benefiting millions of people around the globe,” says Arnaud Boetsch.
A virtual event in honour of the new Laureates will be held later this year. Information about the next edition of the Rolex Awards will be published on the website in 2022.
Images courtesy of Rolex
