KfW Bernhard Grzimek Prize
The KfW Bernhard Grzimek Prize is an award worth 50,000 euros for outstanding achievements in maintaining biodiversity . It has been awarded every two years by the KfW Foundation in Frankfurt am Main since 2013 and is one of the most highly endowed German prizes for the protection of biological diversity. The award is given to international personalities and organizations who, with their work, develop approaches to conserving biodiversity or who have been able to initiate a paradigm shift in their field of work. According to the founder, the regular award of the prize is intended to raise the awareness of leaders from business, politics, science and civil society and to draw attention to the necessity of sustainable action. At the same time, the KfW Foundation honors the memory of the environmental and animal rights activist and long-time director of the Frankfurt Zoo, Bernhard Grzimek .
Nomination process
Every two years the KfW Foundation selects up to eight nominators who, thanks to their activities and networking, have an international overview of exemplary, successful projects and personalities who are suitable for being awarded the KfW Bernhard Grzimek Prize. The nominators qualify through their technical expertise, but can also suggest candidates from other specialist disciplines. The selection is based on the main topics of the award ceremony, which change every two years.
jury
The award winners are selected from the proposals submitted by a specialist jury appointed by the KfW Foundation. The first prize was awarded in 2013 as an honorary prize for the founder. The winner was determined directly by the KfW Foundation. A six-member expert jury was appointed to award the second KfW Bernhard Grzimek Prize in 2015 and the prizes in the following years, which has since been responsible for selecting the winners. The expert jury should take into account the aspects of a professional evaluation, civil society classification and the philosophy of the namesake. For this purpose, it is based on a consistent evaluation matrix, the criteria of which are the reference to the topic of biodiversity, relevance (outside the project's own context), sustainability (with regard to future viability, development potential, long-term and impact), integrity, innovation (with regard to a model character of the project, potential for imitators and scalability) as well as the personal commitment of the candidates beyond a political or public office.
List of jury members
- Christoph Kucklick , editor-in-chief of Geo magazine
- Christian Grzimek, Okapia and grandson of Bernhard Grzimek
- Axel Janke, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center
- Maritta von Bieberstein Koch-Weser, Earth3000 gGmbH
- Maja Göpel , Secretary General of the German Advisory Council on Global Change
- Christof Schenck, managing director of the Frankfurt Zoological Society from 1858 eV
Award ceremony
The award is presented in uneven years at an award ceremony with invited guests in Frankfurt am Main.
Award winners
- 2013: Frankfurt Zoological Society of 1858 eV
- 2015: Pavan Sukhdev ( TEEB study ) and Emmanuel de Merode (half of the prize money was awarded to the two winners.)
- 2017: Andrew Zaloumis , CEO of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park in South Africa
- 2019: Angelique Songco, Superintendent of Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park in the Philippines
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ KfW Bernhard Grzimek Prize 2015 goes to Emmanuel de Merode and Pavan Suhkdev. Retrieved May 1, 2017 .