Imazon is the first Brazilian research institute to win a UN award

The institution was recognized in the Science and Innovation category of the Champions of the Earth

The Amazon Institute of People and the Environment (Imazon) won the United Nations’ top environmental award, called Champions of the Earth. In twenty editions of the award, this was the first time a Brazilian research institution won in the Science and Innovation category. The organization was recognized for its pioneering work in monitoring the forest with advanced geospatial technologies and artificial intelligence.

 The award ceremony took place this Wednesday (10), during the seventh session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7), held in Nairobi, Kenya. Granted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the award annually honors five individuals, groups, or organizations whose actions have a transformative impact on environmental protection and the fight against climate change.

 ”There is a legitimate concern about the environmental impact of data centers and artificial intelligence, but Imazon has shown that these technologies can be truly transformative when applied correctly. Its AI-based forecasting models provided accurate early warnings of deforestation in the Amazon and helped improve enforcement and reduce deforestation rates. Imazon is showing exactly where the true power of AI lies. I call on other technology innovators to follow its example”, said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP.

 Headquartered in the city of Belém, State of Pará, Imazon is a nonprofit scientific institution that has been working for 35 years to promote conservation and sustainable development in the Amazon. Its more than one thousand published studies have contributed to reducing deforestation, creating protected areas, scaling up forest management and the socio-bioeconomy, empowering Indigenous peoples and traditional communities, and restoring the forest. In addition, Imazon developed the first civil society systems for monitoring the Amazon through satellite imagery, SAD and Simex, as well as the region’s first deforestation forecasting platform powered by artificial intelligence, PrevisIA.

 ”The greatest beneficiaries of the solutions created by Imazon are the peoples who live in the Amazon, whose lives and territories we defend. Our journey of innovation was strengthened nearly 20 years ago with geospatial tools that brought transparency to data on deforestation, forest degradation, and logging. With the introduction of artificial intelligence, we have shown that science is always open to new allies to deliver concrete benefits to communities and preserve biodiversity,” celebrated Ritaumaria Pereira, Executive Director of Imazon.

 Imazon currently monitors nine critical themes in the Amazon: deforestation, forest degradation, logging, land use change, secondary vegetation, roads, deforestation risk, water surface dynamics, and wetlands. All of Imazon’s scientific research is publicly available and communicated in formats tailored to diverse audiences, with a strong emphasis on leveraging this knowledge to inform and shape public policy.

 ”Reliable socio-environmental data is vital to advancing the climate finance agenda for mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage initiatives. Geospatial science, for instance, offers strategic insights to combat deforestation and forest degradation. “Combining artificial intelligence with this science can accelerate its application with greater precision,” noted Carlos Souza Jr., coordinator of Imazon’s Amazon Monitoring Program Amazon Monitoring Prorogra.

This recognition strengthens Brazilian and Amazonian science and can give global scale to the solutions developed by the institute, especially in countries with tropical forests in Africa and Asia. Through the Amazon Network of Georeferenced Socio-Environmental Information (Raisg), Imazon already carries out Pan-Amazon monitoring initiatives in partnership with institutions in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. 

Get to know the Champions of the Earth 2025:

Imazon, Brazil
Category: Science and Innovation

A research institute that combines science and geospatial tools powered by artificial intelligence to curb deforestation. Imazon’s work has strengthened forest governance, supported thousands of legal proceedings, and exposed the scale of illegal deforestation — driving systemic change across the Amazon.

Pacific Island Students Fighting Climate Change
Category: Political Leadership

A youth-led NGO secured a historic advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice affirming States’ legal obligations to prevent climate harm and protect human rights. Its campaign is reshaping global climate legislation and empowering vulnerable nations.

Supriya Sahu, Deputy Chief Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu
Category: Inspiration and Action

A pioneer in sustainable cooling and ecosystem restoration, Sahu has spearheaded initiatives that created 2.5 million green jobs, expanded forest cover, and integrated thermal adaptation into infrastructure. These efforts have benefited 12 million people and established a global model for climate resilience.

Mariam Issoufou, Director and Founder, Mariam Issoufou Architects, Niamey/Zurich
Category: Entrepreneurial Vision

Designer of the Hikma Community complex in Niger, Mariam employs passive cooling to lower indoor temperatures by 10°C without air conditioning. Her approach, rooted in local materials and cultural heritage, is transforming building design across Africa’s Sahel region. A single architect redefining sustainable, climate-resilient housing, she is inspiring a new generation of resilient design throughout the Sahel and beyond.

Manfredi Caltagirone (posthumous)
Category: Career

Former head of UNEP’s International Methane Emissions Observatory, Manfredi Caltagirone championed transparency and science-based action on methane issues, influencing the European Union’s first regulation on methane emissions and shaping global energy policy.

Watch the Champions of the Earth vídeo on Imazon here