In a rare gesture that was loudly applauded, at the end of the evening, Steve McMormack, head of The Nature Conservancy, announced that his organization would match the awards being given to every group. His gesture comes to over $700,000.

"This is a night with no losers, only winners," emphasized Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator of the UNDP, calling it a "new Oscar night," since the award winners were kept a secret and only announced after dinner had been served. He said that 420 nominations from over 70 countries had been received and 27 of the communities, representatives of which were present, had been shortlisted.

Timothy E. Wirth, President of the United Nations Foundation, with tongue firmly in cheek, said that he wanted "a partnership here of the communities represented, with the US government." His words were greeted with laughter and applause.

The award winners: the Suledo Forest Community from Tanzania, the Fiji Locally Managed Marine Area Network, the Uma Bawang Resident's Association from Malaysia, the Toledo Institute for Development and Environment from Belize, the Green Life Association of Amazonia from Brazil, and the Talamanca Initiative from Costa Rica.

The Equator Initiative is a global movement committed to identifying and supporting innovative community partnerships that reduce poverty through the conservation of and sustainable use of biodiversity. It is a partnership of UNDP, the UN's global development network, with BrasilConnects, the government of Canada, the International Development Research Center, the World Conservation Union, the Nature Conservancy, Television Trust for the Environment, and the United Nations Foundation.