UNCSD, New York. The SEED Initiative is pleased to announce the inspiring ventures which have been selected as finalists for the 2008 SEED Awards for Entrepreneurship in Sustainable Development. This year’s 15 finalists (listed below) offer exciting examples of innovative action in important fields of sustainability: recycling; creating community enterprises; climate change adaptation and mitigation; organic, fair-trade agricultural produce; empowering women and youth; bio-fuels; harvesting and marketing medicinal plants; community-based eco-tourism – they even include innovations in small-scale irrigation.

T'ikapapa, based in Peru, beat nearly 1000 other projects from around the world to win World Challenge 2007.The farmers of Peru's high Andes are among the poorest in the country, with an average income of under US$1 per day. However, these farmers are sitting on a potential goldmine, as the region is home to three thousand varieties of potato. These native strains bear little resemblance to the regular potato, as many are brightly coloured - inside and out - and strangely shaped, but are packed with vitamins and are organically grown.

Pretoria, South Africa. The Winners of the 2007 SEED Awards arrived in Pretoria on Saturday, 13 October for the Annual Partnership Forum and a two day workshop (15-17 October, 2007).
The workshop provides a platform for sharing experiences and strategies that have worked. It will also look at how partnerships are being used to implement the commitments from the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development and the Millennium Development Goals.

UNCSD, New York. An environmentally-friendly way of growing rice and a project to cultivate a highly versatile berry found at the roof of the world are among the winners of a new sustainable development award. They are joined by a community-based marine protected area in the Indian Ocean, an innovative water supply scheme in Latin America and a power-plant in West Africa that turns cattle waste into energy.