The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) chose seven environmentalists, including a Yemeni and a Sudanese, as this year's "Champions of the Earth" for spearheading efforts to advance sustainable development and combat climate change, it was announced here on Monday.The champions, who will receive their prize at a ceremony scheduled for April 22 in Singapore, are Abdul-Qader Ba-Jammal, the Secretary-General of the Yemen People's General Congress, Balgis Osman-Elasha, a senior researcher at Sudan's Higher Council for Environment Natural Resources and Atiq Rahman, the Executive Director of the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies.
The other four champions are the Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark, Prince Albert II of Monaco, former US Senator Timothy E. Wirth and the former Energy and Environment Minister of Barbados Liz Thompson.