Michael Succow
Encyclopedia
Michael Succow is a German
biologist
and ecologist. His numerous publications are mostly devoted to the ecology
of moorland
s and his typology of moorlands is today used as a standard classifications strategy for moorlands.
In 1997, he was awarded the Right Livelihood Award
for his work, particularly his efforts to create nature reserve
s in Germany, Eastern Europe and Asia.
in 1969, GDR officials pressed for him to leave the university. Succow now worked outside the university, but nevertheless finished is PhD
thesis on moor vegetation in 1970. He then worked in Mongolia
for several months before becoming a scientific employee at the Department of Agrology
at the Academy of Agricultural Sciences of the German Democratic Republic
, a position that allowed him to write his habilitation
, which in turn helped him become a professor at the academy in 1987.
For a short period in 1990, Succow was the vice secretary of nature, conservation and water of the GDR. On the 12th of September 1990 Succow successfully pressed the Council of Secretaries of the GDR on their last meeting before the German reunification
to declare about 7% of the soon-to-be dissolved nation as national park
s and biosphere reserve
s.
After the German reunification, Succow accepted a visiting professorship at the Technical University of Berlin
. He then worked as a consulted for the state of Brandenburg
as well as on an international level, for instance initiating seven National Parks in the country of Georgia
. He was hired as a full university professor for geobotany and landscape ecology
and director of the Department of Botany and the botanical garden of the University of Greifswald in 1992.
After 1990, Succow did consulting work in a number of former Warsaw Pact
countries as well as in Central Asia
and East Asia
resulting in the designation of nature reservations (including a number of UNESCO
world nature heritage sites) in Kamchatka, the Lena
river delta, Karelia
, Kyrgyzstan
, Kazakhstan
, Uzbekistan
, Mongolia
, Georgia
, Russia
and Belarus
.
With the prize money of the Right Livelihood Award
, the founded the Michael Succow Foundation for the Protection of Nature , which, for instance, helped Azerbaijan
to create a national park programme with up to eight reserves.
Michael Succow is a scientific councellor to a number of environmental organisations and institutions.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
biologist
Biologist
A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...
and ecologist. His numerous publications are mostly devoted to the ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
of moorland
Moorland
Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...
s and his typology of moorlands is today used as a standard classifications strategy for moorlands.
In 1997, he was awarded the Right Livelihood Award
Right Livelihood Award
The Right Livelihood Award, also referred to as the "Alternative Nobel Prize", is a prestigious international award to honour those "working on practical and exemplary solutions to the most urgent challenges facing the world today". The prize was established in 1980 by Jakob von Uexkull, and is...
for his work, particularly his efforts to create nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
s in Germany, Eastern Europe and Asia.
Life
Succow studied biology at the University of Greifswald from 1960 until 1965. He stayed at the University of Greifswald for yet another four years as scientific assistant. When he openly sympathised with reform forces during the Prague SpringPrague Spring
The Prague Spring was a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia during the era of its domination by the Soviet Union after World War II...
in 1969, GDR officials pressed for him to leave the university. Succow now worked outside the university, but nevertheless finished is PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
thesis on moor vegetation in 1970. He then worked in Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
for several months before becoming a scientific employee at the Department of Agrology
Agrology
Agrology is the branch of soil science dealing with the production of crops. The use of the term is most active in Canada. Use of the term outside of Canada is sporadic but significant...
at the Academy of Agricultural Sciences of the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
, a position that allowed him to write his habilitation
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...
, which in turn helped him become a professor at the academy in 1987.
For a short period in 1990, Succow was the vice secretary of nature, conservation and water of the GDR. On the 12th of September 1990 Succow successfully pressed the Council of Secretaries of the GDR on their last meeting before the German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
to declare about 7% of the soon-to-be dissolved nation as national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
s and biosphere reserve
Biosphere reserve
The Man and the Biosphere Programme of UNESCO was established in 1971 to promote interdisciplinary approaches to management, research and education in ecosystem conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.-Development:...
s.
After the German reunification, Succow accepted a visiting professorship at the Technical University of Berlin
Technical University of Berlin
The Technische Universität Berlin is a research university located in Berlin, Germany. Translating the name into English is discouraged by the university, however paraphrasing as Berlin Institute of Technology is recommended by the university if necessary .The TU Berlin was founded...
. He then worked as a consulted for the state of Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
as well as on an international level, for instance initiating seven National Parks in the country of Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
. He was hired as a full university professor for geobotany and landscape ecology
Landscape ecology
Landscape ecology is the science of studying and improving relationships between urban development and ecological processes in the environment and particular ecosystems...
and director of the Department of Botany and the botanical garden of the University of Greifswald in 1992.
After 1990, Succow did consulting work in a number of former Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
countries as well as in Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
and East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
resulting in the designation of nature reservations (including a number of UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
world nature heritage sites) in Kamchatka, the Lena
Lena River
The Lena is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean . It is the 11th longest river in the world and has the 9th largest watershed...
river delta, Karelia
Karelia
Karelia , the land of the Karelian peoples, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Finland, Russia, and Sweden...
, Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
, Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
.
With the prize money of the Right Livelihood Award
Right Livelihood Award
The Right Livelihood Award, also referred to as the "Alternative Nobel Prize", is a prestigious international award to honour those "working on practical and exemplary solutions to the most urgent challenges facing the world today". The prize was established in 1980 by Jakob von Uexkull, and is...
, the founded the Michael Succow Foundation for the Protection of Nature , which, for instance, helped Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
to create a national park programme with up to eight reserves.
Michael Succow is a scientific councellor to a number of environmental organisations and institutions.
Honours (selection)
- 1997 Right Livelihood AwardRight Livelihood AwardThe Right Livelihood Award, also referred to as the "Alternative Nobel Prize", is a prestigious international award to honour those "working on practical and exemplary solutions to the most urgent challenges facing the world today". The prize was established in 1980 by Jakob von Uexkull, and is...
in StockholmStockholmStockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area... - 2000 URANIAUrania (Berlin)Urania is a scientific society founded in Berlin in 1888. Its aim is to communicate the most recent scientific findings to the broad public. With its 2000 members, Urania organizes more than 1000 events per year which attract about 130 000 visitors...
-Medaille für besondere Leistungen in der wissenschaftlichen Volksbildung - 2001 BundesverdienstkreuzBundesverdienstkreuzThe Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany is the only general state decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has existed since 7 September 1951, and between 3,000 and 5,200 awards are given every year across all classes...
(First Class) - 2005 Order of Merit of the State of BrandenburgBrandenburgBrandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
- 2006 Rubenow Medal of the City of GreifswaldGreifswaldGreifswald , officially, the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald is a town in northeastern Germany. It is situated in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, at an equal distance of about from Germany's two largest cities, Berlin and Hamburg. The town borders the Baltic Sea, and is crossed...