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Future Earth Member Awarded International Frontiers Planet Prize

Zia Mehrabi, a member of Future Earth’s global research network the Global Land Programme, was named one of three international winners of the 2025 Frontiers Planet Prize. 

Mehrabi was recognized for a study published last year in the journal Science that found widespread diversification in agriculture could improve both human and environmental health. Representing the United States, he received the honor during a June 17 ceremony at the Villars Symposium in Switzerland as well as a prize of $1 million to be used to further his research.

“We’re so proud of Zia Mehrabi to have received the award on behalf of the co-authors and most notably lead authors Laura Van Rasmussen and Ingo Grass,” says Global Land Programme director Ariane de Bremond. “The Global Land Programme community has long been instrumental in synthesizing place-based research to better understand the consequences of land-use change—and it is central to our mission to continually develop new synthesis methods and products.”

An assistant professor of environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder, Mehrabi leads the Better Planet Laboratory and explores how diversification can transform food systems. His work offers policymakers a practical, science-based roadmap for reshaping food systems to stay within Earth’s safe operating limits.

The other two 2024/25 International Champions are: 

  • Zahra Kalantari, representing Sweden from the Royal Institute of Technology, for her work integrating AI and geospatial tools to assess how nature-based solutions in urban areas can reduce emissions and increase resilience.
  • Arunima Malik, representing Australia from the University of Sydney, for her pioneering use of big data to measure the sustainability impacts of supply chains across multiple sectors and scales.

Launched by the Frontiers Research Foundation in 2022, the prize honors scientific breakthroughs that can help drive global sustainability transformations. Nominations come from national academies and academic institutes across the globe. A jury of 100 independent experts first selects a group of national champions, from which three outstanding international champions are chosen each year.

Future Earth supports the prize as a strategic partner, alongside the Potsdam Institute of Climate Research Impact, the International Science Council, the Villars Institute and others. To learn more about the prize, visit www.frontiersplanetprize.org.