William, The Prince of Wales, was in Cape Town this week, for Earthshot Awards.
Finalists are global innovators, entrepreneurs, community leaders and advocates addressing climate and environmental challenges.
Speaking about the selection process, Founder and President of Earthshot, Prince William said, this year’s finalists were selected from nearly 2,500 nominees submitted by the Prize’s network of more than 430 nominators from 75 countries.
They were selected by partners and an Expert Advisory Panel, made up of a global group of more than 100 subject-matter experts.
Speaking at a glitzy ceremony on Wednesday evening, Prince William said “I believe our world can be rich in possibility and optimism.”
Winner of the “Build a Waste – Free World” is Keep It Cool.
Winner of “Clean Our Air” is Gayo, Green Africa Youth Organization.
Winner of “Protect and restore nature” is Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative.
Winner of “Revive our Oceans” is “High Ambition Coalition for nature and people.”
Winner of “Fix our climate” is Advanced Thermovoltaic Systems.
King MisuZulu ka Zwelithini has reaffirmed his commitment to supporting Ezemvelo’s conservation initiatives to ensure Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park (HiP) remains one of the premier game reserves globally, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, said in a statement on Wednesday.
This follows the Zulu King’s recent two-day visit (05-06 November 2024) to HiP, accompanied by Queen Nomzamo Masesi Myeni, members of the Royal household and local Amakhosi, including Inkosi Mkhwanazi of Mpukunyoni Traditional Authority and Inkosi Hlabisa of Matshamnyama Traditional Authority.
King Misuzulu also participated in a rhino dehorning session, an initiative Ezemvelo launched in April 2024 to reduce rhino poaching.
Since the program began, more than 1,000 rhinos were dehorned, contributing to a 70% decrease in poaching.
Despite this, about 20 rhinos were poached in October alone.
Speaking about rhino dehorning, the Zulu King said “we need to support programs where we protect our natural resources, e.g our animals looking at everything that affects our animals negatively. We need to give great support especially those communities that are close to these game reserves and we look at their leadership to work closely with the nature conservationists.”
Picture: KZN Wildlife
