To Perpetuity and Beyond

The 2021 laureates of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise are giving many communities, species, and fragile ecosystems a new lease of life.

- PARTH CHARAN

WITH EACH PASSING year, the Rolex Awards for Enterprise (RAE) become more significant. Rapidly melting glaciers, the ever-growing threat of climate change, resource depletion, and growing ecological imbalance mean altruism and preventive action are the needs of the hour.

These ecological concerns are the essence of the Rolex awards too. Part of Rolex's larger Perpetual Planet initiative, the awards seek to support ongoing efforts by individuals across the globe who have dedicated themselves to improving and preserving life on Earth. The RAE has sponsored 155 laureates since the inaugural edition in 1976, serving as an international outreach programme for ongoing and new projects-and not an award for past achievements.

Last year saw the brand continue its efforts to acknowledge and fund such projects, as always, backing people regardless of their academic credentials, profession, or nationality. Such as conservationist Rinzin Phunjok Lama, geographer Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, climate researcher Gina Moseley, social entrepreneur Felix Brooks-church, and ecologist Luiz Rocha, the five laureates from the 2021 edition of the awards.

The only common element between these five individuals is the fact that all of them are driven by a preservative instinct. Their circumstances, areas of expertise, and bases of operations couldn't be more different. For instance, Rinzin Phunjok Lama, a native of the Humla region in north-western Nepal, stepped up to protect his country's breathtakingly biodiverse landscape after a helicopter crash claimed the lives of 23 Nepalese conservationists.