In its announcement, the Office of the Federal President stated that the eleven women and ten men have made outstanding contributions to the search for solutions to contemporary global challenges, such as the war of aggression against Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic, the fight against poverty, migration, and climate change, or have made efforts to strengthen solidarity in our country.
The Office explains the reasons for honouring the native Dutchman as follows:
‘Thanks to Hans Joosten, we now know that drained peatlands are climate killers, while ‘rewetted’ peatlands are climate savers. The biologist is a pioneer in the search for ways to protect the climate. During his time at the University of Greifswald, he co-founded the Greifswald Mire Centre, one of the world’s most sought-after research centres for climate protection. However, Hans Joosten did not stop at scientific research into peatlands’ effects on the climate. He found practical ways to use these areas for agriculture and set the foundations for a whole new discipline, ‘paludiculture’. Beyond his scientific work, he has persistently taken part in political debates, because climate protection requires action from all of us.’
More about Hans Joosten:
Peatland researcher, Hans Joosten, studied biology in the Netherlands. He pursued a scientific career from 1996 until his retirement in 2021 at the University of Greifswald’s Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology. In more than 600 scientific publications and many research trips to peatlands all over the world, he drew attention to the complex interrelationships of the peatland habitat. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier already awarded Joosten a prize, just one year ago - the German Environmental Award 2021 from the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU).
The event will be broadcast live on Friday, 30 September, from 11.00 a.m. onwards here: www.bundespräsident.de [de].
Further Information
Website Greifswald Mire Centre
Knowledge portal on peatlands, climate protection and paludiculture: moorwissen.de
Media release from the Office of the Federal President [de]
Media photos [de].
Source
Translation of media release from the Greifswald Mire Centre (28 September 2022).
Contact
Greifswald Mire Centre
Nina Körner
Ellernholzstraße 1/3, 17489 Greifswald
Tel.: +49 3834 83542 0
nina.koernergreifswaldmoorde
www.greifswaldmoor.de