Faroes win Nature and Environment Prize

The Faroese professor, author and debater Bogi Hansen wins the DKK 350,000 Nordic Council’s Nature and Environment Prize 2006. The theme for this year’s prize was climate change and adjustment to climate change. Bogi Hansen has conducted research into how the Gulf Stream and other ocean currents affect our climate.

The Adjudication Committee’s motivation:

"Bogi Hansen has been awarded the prize for his wide-ranging research into the climate and oceanography of the Nordic seas. Of particular note is his many years’ research into ocean currents and the risk that, for example, the Gulf Stream might alter course. In addition, he has managed to convey knowledge about climate change in a clear and enthusiastic manner which makes it readily understandable to the general public as well as scientists and politicians.
The Adjudication Committee considers Bogi Hansen to be one of the representatives from the Nordic research community who has had major international influence, for instance, by pointing out at the effects of climate change on the Arctic environment early on. His research has also demonstrated that global warming has had an effect on the ecological systems around the Faroe Islands and in this way on the Faroese economy".

Bogi Hansen has taken part in a large number of Nordic and international research projects and is currently chair of the West Nordic Ocean Climate programme, which has had influence on climate and fisheries research. His scientific works are regularly published and his results have appeared in Nature and Science on several occasions.

Hansen is co-author of a large number of scientific and popular science books, one of which, Havet (The Sea), won the Faroese Literature Prize in 2001.

The Adjudication Committee has had, including Bogi Hansen, 27 candidates to choose from.

The DKK 350,000 prize will be awarded during the Nordic Council’s Session in Copenhagen on 1 November 2006.

The Nordic Council