# Miss Earth 2001

Miss Earth 2001 was the first edition of the Miss Earth pageant, held at the University of the Philippines Theater in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, on October 28, 2001.
At the end of the event, Catharina Svensson of Denmark was crowned as Miss Earth 2001.
Contestants from forty-two countries and territories participated in this year's pageant. The pageant was hosted by Emma Suwannarat, Jaime Garchitorena, and Asha Gill.

## Background
### Location and date

After the contract of Carousel Productions to stage the Mutya ng Pilipinas and Miss Asia Pacific International pageants was not renewed in the year 2000, the production company, led by Ramon Monzon and Lorraine Schuck, has decided to come up with their own pageants, with the help of former beauty queens from Mutya ng Pilipinas. These pageants are eventually named as Miss Philippines (which eventually became Miss Philippines Earth), and Miss Earth, which focuses on environmental consciousness.
Miss Earth was formally launched in a press conference on April 3, 2001, along with the search of Miss Philippines to represent Philippines in the international competition. Likewise, the pageant tied up with the Philippine government agencies such as the Philippine Department of Tourism (DoT), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), and at least two international environmental groups such as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the American Global Release to further its environmental advocacy.

### Selection of participants

Contestants from forty-two countries and territories were selected to compete in the pageant. There were originally sixty countries that will compete in this edition, but was trimmed down to fifty-two after the September 11 attacks that happened in New York and Washington, United States. The number of contestants was further whittled to forty-two following the air-strikes on Afghanistan by the coalition led by the United States. Some countries who withdrew due to the aforementioned events include Costa Rica, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Malawi, Nepal, Switzerland, Uruguay, and Vietnam.

## Results
### Placements

| Placement | Contestant |
| Miss Earth 2001 | Denmark – Catharina Svensson |
| Miss Earth – Wind 2001 | Brazil – Simone Régis |
| Miss Earth – Water 2001 | Kazakhstan – Margarita Kravtsova |
| Miss Earth – Fire 2001 | Argentina – Daniela Stucan |
| Top 10 | Bolivia – Catherine Villarroel  Estonia – Evelyn Mikomägi  India – Shamita Singha  Latvia – Jelena Keirane  Philippines – Carlene Aguilar  United States – Abigail Royce |

### Special awards
#### Major awards

| Awards | Contestant |
| Miss Friendship | Japan – Misuzu Hirayama |
| Miss Photogenic | Argentina – Daniela Stucan |
| Miss Talent | Latvia – Jelena Keirane |
| Best in National Costume | India – Shamita Singha |
| Best in Evening Gown | Philippines – Carlene Aguilar |
| Best in Swimsuit | Kazakhstan – Margarita Kravtsova |

#### Minor/Sponsor awards

| Awards | Contestant |
| Miss Avon | India – Shamita Singha |
| Miss Close-up | Philippines – Carlene Aguilar |
| Miss Creamsilk | Argentina – Daniela Stucan |
| Miss Lux | India – Shamita Singha |
| Miss Ponds | Estonia – Evelyn Mikomägi |

## Contestants

Forty-two contestants competed for the title.
| Country/Territory | Contestant | Age | Hometown |
| Argentina | Daniela Stucan | 22 | Ensenada |
| Australia | Christy Anderson | – | Sydney |
| Bolivia | Catherine Villarroel | 19 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra |
| Brazil | Simone Régis | 22 | Santa Catarina |
| Canada | Michelle Weswaldi | – | Woodbridge |
| Colombia | Natalia Botero | 21 | Cesar |
| Croatia | Ivana Galesic | – | Zagreb |
| Denmark | Catharina Svensson | 19 | Copenhagen |
| Dominican Republic | Catherine Núñez | – | Elías Piña |
| El Salvador | Grace Marie Zabaneh | 22 | San Salvador |
| Estonia | Evelyn Mikomägi | 21 | Tallinn |
| Ethiopia | Nardos Tiluhan Wondemu | 21 | Addis Ababa |
| Finland | Martina Aitolehti | 19 | Helsinki |
| Gibraltar | Charlene Ann Figueras | 21 | Gibraltar |
| Guatemala | Carmina Elizabeth Paz | – | Guatemala City |
| Hungary | Krisztina Kovacs | – | Budapest |
| India | Shamita Singha | 22 | Mumbai |
| Italy | Monica Rosetti | 19 | Milan |
| Japan | Misuzu Hirayama | – | Tokyo |
| Kazakhstan | Margarita Kravtsova | 20 | Astana |
| Kenya | Aqua Bonsu | – | Nairobi |
| Latvia | Jelena Keirane | 21 | Riga |
| Lebanon | Adelle Raymond Boustany | – | Beirut |
| Malaysia | Joey Tan | 24 | Penang |
| Netherlands | Jamie-Lee Huisman | – | North Holland |
| New Zealand | Abbey Flynn | – | Auckland |
| Nicaragua | Karla José Leclair | – | Matagalpa |
| Panama | Aliana Khan | – | Panama City |
| Peru | Paola Barreda | – | Lima |
| Philippines | Carlene Aguilar | 19 | Quezon City |
| Puerto Rico | Amaricelys Reyes | – | Isabela |
| Russia | Victoria Bonya | – | Krasnokamensk |
| Singapore | Calista Ng | 23 | Singapore |
| South Africa | Inecke van der Westhuizen | – | Gauteng |
| Spain | Noemi Caldas | – | Madrid |
| Taiwan | Hsiu Chao-Yun | – | Taipei |
| Tanzania | Hilda Bukozo | – | Dar es Salaam |
| Thailand | Victoria Wachholz | – | Chiang Mai |
| Turkey | Gozde Bahadir | – | Istanbul |
| United States | Abigail Royce | 25 | San Diego |
| Venezuela | Lirigmel Ramos | – | Caracas |
| Zanzibar | Sheena Nanty | – | Zanzibar City |