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

Special awards

Major awards

Minor/Sponsor awards

Contestants

Forty-two contestants competed for the title.