Michael Succow (born 21 April 1941 in Lüdersdorf near

Bad Freienwalde Bad Freienwalde is a spa town in the Märkisch-Oderland district in Brandenburg, Germany. Geography The town is situated on the Alte Oder, an old branch of the Oder River at the northwestern rim of the Oderbruch basin and the steep rise of the ...

)Vita
PDF, 171 kB, provided by Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt, retrieved 9 November 2015 is a German

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

and ecologist. His numerous publications are mostly devoted to the

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overl ...

of moorlands 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 A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

s in Germany, Eastern Europe and Asia. In 2015, Succow was awarded the honorary

German Environmental Prize The German Environmental Prize (german: Deutscher Umweltpreis) is a government-sponsored award for protecting the environment. Worth €500,000, it is one of the most valuable environmental awards in Europe. The sponsor German Federal Environment ...

of the German Federal Environmental Foundation, Europe's highest endowed environmental prize.

Life

Succow studied biology at the

University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; german: Universität Greifswald), formerly also known as “Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald“, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pom ...

from 1960 until 1965. He stayed at the University of Greifswald for another four years as scientific assistant. When he openly sympathised with reform forces during the Prague Spring in 1969, GDR officials pressed for him to leave the university. Succow then worked outside the university, but nevertheless finished his PhD thesis on moor vegetation in 1970. He then worked in

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

for several months before becoming a scientific employee at the Department of

Agrology Agrology (from Greek , ''agros'', "field, tilled land"; and , ''-logia'') 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 Canada is sporadic but significant ...

at the Academy of Agricultural Sciences of the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

, 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 12 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 parks and

biosphere reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

s. After the German reunification, Succow accepted a visiting professorship at the Technical University of Berlin. He then worked as a consultant for the state of

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...

as well as on an international level, for instance initiating seven National Parks in the country of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. He was hired as a full university professor for

geobotany Phytogeography (from Greek φυτόν, ''phytón'' = "plant" and γεωγραφία, ''geographía'' = "geography" meaning also distribution) or botanical geography is the branch of biogeography that is concerned with the geographic distribution o ...

and

landscape ecology Landscape ecology is the science of studying and improving relationships between ecological processes in the environment and particular ecosystems. This is done within a variety of landscape scales, development spatial patterns, and organizatio ...

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 The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist repub ...

countries as well as in

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

and

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...

resulting in the designation of nature reservations (including a number of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

world nature heritage sites) in

Kamchatka The Kamchatka Peninsula (russian: полуостров Камчатка, Poluostrov Kamchatka, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and west ...

, the

Lena Lena or LENA may refer to: Places * Léna Department, a department of Houet Province in Burkina Faso * Lena, Manitoba, an unincorporated community located in Killarney-Turtle Mountain municipality in Manitoba, Canada * Lena, Norway, a village in ...

river delta, Karelia,

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

and

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

. With the prize money of the Right Livelihood Award, he founded the ''Michael Succow Foundation for the Protection of Nature'' (german: Michael-Succow-Stiftung zum Schutz der Natur), which, for instance, helped

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

to create a national park programme with up to eight reserves. Michael Succow is a scientific counsellor to a number of environmental organisations and institutions.

Honours (selection)

*1997 Right Livelihood Award in Stockholm *2000

URANIA Urania ( ; grc, , Ouranía; modern Greek shortened name ''Ránia''; meaning "heavenly" or "of heaven") was, in Greek mythology, the muse of astronomy, and in later times, of Christian poetry. Urania is the goddess of astronomy and stars, he ...

-Medaille für besondere Leistungen in der wissenschaftlichen Volksbildung *2001 Bundesverdienstkreuz (First Class) *2005 Order of Merit of the State of Brandenburg *2006 Rubenow Medal of the City of

Greifswald Greifswald (), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (german: Universitäts- und Hansestadt Greifswald, Low German: ''Griepswoold'') is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rosto ...

*2015 Honorary German Environmental Prize by the German Federal Environmental Foundation

External links

*
Succow at the Right Livelihood website

Michael Succow Foundation

Department of Botany, University of Greifswald

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Succow, Michael 21st-century German biologists German ecologists Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany University of Greifswald alumni Academic staff of the University of Greifswald 1941 births Living people 20th-century German biologists