Nairobi, Kenya, 2 December 2025-/African Media Agency(AMA)/- The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) today named Tanzanian hip hop artist Frida Amani as its first-ever Advocate for Ecosystem Restoration. The designation comes ahead of the seventh session of the UN Environment Assembly, in Nairobi.
With more than one million social media followers, Frida Amani is among East Africa’s most celebrated female rappers and media personalities. She has won multiple accolades, including the Music Cities Award – which recognises and celebrates the best uses of music to drive economic, social, environmental, and cultural development in cities and places worldwide – and the Orange Award in Tanzania.
“Growing up, we saw nature as a great protector – providing water, food, shade, and meaning. We also watched it become increasingly vulnerable to climate change and unsustainable exploitation, resulting in floods and droughts. By joining the UN Environment Programme, I wish to inspire my fans to become part of a generation committed to ecosystem restoration. It is no longer enough to lament nature’s loss – we must bring it back. We are Generation Restoration,” Amani said.
Amani becomes UNEP’s first Advocate for Ecosystem Restoration. In this role, she will work to raise awareness and mobilize young people to prevent, halt, and reverse ecosystem degradation. At the midpoint of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, her voice is poised to strengthen efforts to rehabilitate degraded natural areas—from oceans to mountains and from cities to savannahs, grasslands, and forests.
“Frida sings, speaks, and acts for a healthy environment, so I am pleased to welcome her to the UNEP family,” said UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen. “Reflected in her work is a relentless passion for restoration, where care for people and nature go hand-in-hand, making her an inspiring role model for young people across Africa and beyond.”
Amani’s social and environmental activism is woven into many of her musical productions and performances. This includes songs such as Kisiki Hai (Famer-Managed Natural Regeneration in Swahili), the Performance for Nature event, the Mote Mama Gizani campaign for the health of pregnant women, as well as her role as Goodwill Ambassador for the Lead Foundation. Frida Amani has set up her ow foundation – the Amani foundation – through which she supports causes like the Performance for Nature concert held in Tanzania earlier this year.
Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf UN Environment Programme
NOTES TO EDITORS
About the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
The UN Environment Programme is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.
About the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration
The UN General Assembly has declared 2021–2030 a UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Led by the UN Environment Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, together with the support of partners, it is designed to prevent, halt, and reverse the loss and degradation of ecosystems worldwide. It aims at reviving billions of hectares, covering terrestrial as well as aquatic ecosystems. A global call to action, the UN Decade draws together political support, scientific research, and financial muscle to massively scale up restoration.
About the UN Environment Assembly
The United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) is the world’s highest-level decision-making body for matters related to the environment, with a universal membership of all 193 Member States. It sets the global environmental agenda, provides overarching policy guidance, and defines policy responses to address emerging environmental challenges. It undertakes policy review, dialogue and the exchange of experiences, sets the strategic guidance on the future direction of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and fosters partnerships for achieving environmental goals and resource mobilization.
About UN Goodwill Ambassadors
United Nations Goodwill Ambassadors, including Advocates, are high-profile individuals who have committed themselves to helping the United Nations and its specialized agencies focus worldwide attention on pressing global issues that are close to their hearts. These prominent public figures volunteer their time, talent, and passion to raise awareness of UN efforts to improve the lives of billions of people everywhere. UN Environment Programme Goodwill Ambassadors and Advocates are designated by the UNEP Executive Director and approved by the Secretary-General of the UN.
For more information please contact:
News and Media Unit, UN Environment Programme
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