Uru Uru Team (Bolivia) - Equator Prize 2023 Winner

Initiated in 2019 by Indigenous youth from the Urus community in Southwestern Bolivia, the Uru Uru Team is on a mission to protect their Uru Uru Lake. As the lake suffers from severe pollution caused by waste from the nearby city of Oruro, so does the Indigenous community, local flora and fauna, and an internationally recognized wetland under the Ramsar convention. As a solution, the Uru Uru Team developed floating rafts that blend Indigenous knowledge with the scientific principles of phytoremediation. These rafts, made from recycled materials and native plants that absorb heavy metals and contaminants, have already reduced lake pollution by 30 percent. Learn more: