The UNESCO Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Conservation is a biennial award “to afford recognition to outstanding contributions by individuals, groups of individuals, institutes or organizations in the management or preservation of the environment, consistent with the policies, aims and objectives of UNESCO, and in relation to the Organization’s programmes in this field”.
This prestigious Prize has been made possible through a generous donation to UNESCO by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al-Said of Oman in 1989.
Initiated in 1989 as the ‘the UNESCO Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Preservation’, it is awarded since 1991 every second year for outstanding contributions by individuals, groups of individuals, institutes or organizations in the field of the environment. It consists of a diploma and a financial reward of US$100,000 and it is awarded during the World Science Forum. In-line with a decision of the UNESCO Executive Board, the title of the Prize is since 2019 slightly modified to read ‘The UNESCO Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Conservation’ to better reflect its interdisciplinary nature.
How to apply – UNESCO Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Conservation
This prize is awarded every two years for outstanding contributions by individuals, groups of individuals, institutes or organizations in the field of the environment. It consists of a diploma and a financial reward of US$100,000 and it is awarded during the World Science Forum.
Nominations for the Prize can only be made by UNESCO Members States in consultation with their National Commissions, and by Non-Governmental Organizations maintaining official partnerships with UNESCO, and active in relevant fields covered by the Prize. Each Member State or NGO may only nominate one candidate.
Other interested NGOs, research institutions, universities and individuals, are not eligible to make nominations directly to UNESCO. Therefore, such bodies and individuals are invited to propose their candidate to their country National Commission for UNESCO, which may or may not select it as its formal candidature.
Self-nominations cannot be considered.
Candidatures should be prepared in English or French. They must include:
- A nomination form (available on this page when a call for nominations is open)
- A recommendation letter from the Member State or NGO
- An endorsement letter from the National Commission of the country concerned.
Additional information, such as publications, articles, or scientific papers, may also be included in support of each nomination.
Call for nominations
The 2026 edition of the UNESCO Sultan Qaboos prize for Environmental Conservation is open to receive nominations from UNESCO Member States and NGOs with an official official partnership with UNESCO that are active in relevant fields to the Prize.
Nominations of female candidates are strongly encouraged to ensure they are better represented in the selection of laureates.
Submission forms should be sent to the Secretariat of the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme (mab@unesco.org) until 15 June 2026.
