Global Conservation Wins 2006 Japan Prize

With so much in the news about the dire situation our planet faces in terms of global warming, it was fitting that the Japan Prize for 2006 was awarded precisely in this terse area. British scientist, Peter Ashton, who specialises in asian forestry with a vision to promote the harmonious co-exsistence of humans and nature, won this year’s 50 million yen prize this January in Tokyo for his project which observed 3 million trees and 6,000 species in tropical forests around the world.

Dr. Ashton, who is a professor of forestry at Harvard University, is also the forest botanical advisor to the Sultan of Brunei’s government. Aside from authoring over 200 articles and several books on forestry, Dr.Ashton has already won awards for his achievements such as
the Sultan Qaboos of Oman Prize (through UNESCO), for research and training for improved management of tropical forests with his Sri Lankan colleagues, and the Environmental Merit Award of the Environmental Protection Agency, for significant efforts in conservation in New England and Asia.

Kunio Iwatsuki, panel chairman of the Science and Technology Foundation of Japan commented:

“Dr. Ashton’s research may form the basis of policy-making to optimize usage of forests by local people and enhance the sustainability of forest eco-systems……Younger people are concerned with conservation of the environment and over time harmonious co-existence will become an established field in its own right…”

[tags]Japan Prize, Conservation, Environment, Peter Ashton[/tags]

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Posted January 12th, 2007 by geisha |