United Nations: Former United States Vice President Al Gore and theInternational Olympic Committee and its President Jacques Rogge are among sevenChampions of the Earth selected by the United Nations ecological agency fortheir efforts to save the environment.

The 2007 laureates, from each of the world's regions, will be given the awardsat a special ceremony in Singaporeon April 19 for achievements ranging from chemical safety, sustainable wastemanagement and the greening of sporting events to the conservation of deserts,rainforests and the global climate.

Gore is cited for a career-long campaign to protect the environment, includinghis congressional efforts to clean up toxic dumps that led to the formation ofthe Superfund as well as his more recent battle against climate change asexemplified by his critically-acclaimed documentary 'An InconvenientTruth.'

The IOC and its President get UNEP Special Prize for his importantrole in developing the sport and environment agenda, introducing stringentenvironmental conditions for cities bidding to host Olympic Games that requirea comprehensive environmental programme, such as this year's Torino Winterwidely hailed as the greenest ever.

Other winners are Algerian Environment Minister Cherif Rahmani (Africa) for advancing environmental law, including modelfinancial and economic instruments aimed at promoting a tax system based on the'polluter pays' principle.

Philippines' EnvironmentSecretary Elisea 'Bebet' Gillera Gozun (Asiaand Pacific) bagged the award for her leadership in World Bank projects thathave resulted in tangible results such as the introduction of pollution chargesfor industrial effluents.