Preface
Now at a time after a half century since mankind first saw the blue planet shining in
the great universe, on this blue planet called Earth with more than seven billion people
living, the results of their activities are showing various impacts on the earth itself.
Atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide continued to rise and now has reached
400ppm, not only influencing climate change in the form of global warming but also
causing acidification of oceans, which gives us great concern on our ecosystems.
Twenty years ago from now in 1992, the world in recognizing the issues surfacing
around the status of the earth held the “Earth Summit” in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in theaim of creating a sustainable environment for all living things to live prosperously,
made a declaration toward resolving the global environmental problems. At the sametime, the Asahi Glass Foundation established the Blue Planet Prize and announced thefirst winners in Rio de Janeiro, and since has awarded the prize for twenty consecutive
years to those who made significant contributions in resolving the global environmental
problems and by doing so the Foundation has actively let the public become aware of
the problems through learning the achievements made by the winners and hearing
their thoughts. But now after twenty years from the Earth Summit, global environmental
problems deepened, becoming further a grave concern and there are no easy solutions
in sight. Under these circumstances in 2012, the Blue Planet Prize Laureates responding
to a call made from the Foundation gathered to create a joint paper in issuing a message
to the world that it is now imperative to act toward preserving the global environment.
The joint paper and the message were presented at the UNEP Governing Council in
Nairobi, Kenya and at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in
Rio de Janeiro (Rio + 20).
The publication of “Better Future for the Planet Earth Vol. IV” lists the lectures
given by the Blue Planet Prize winners of (from) 2007 to 2011. We wish the readers torevisit the thoughts and messages given by the winners and act to make a move inii

resolving the global environmental problems. The Asahi Glass Foundation is committed
to making contributions however small they may be in securing the global environment
through its commendation program, environmental survey and other activities.

August, 2013

Tetsuji TanakaChairman
The Asahi Glass Foundationiii

At the Asahi Glass Foundation, we hope that people
around the world will work toward protecting our planet from destruction,
ensuring our treasured
inheritance continues to exist for future generations.

The Blue Planet Prize
Trophy and Certificate

The Blue Planet Prize symbol, top left, represents our responsibility toward our fragile home. It is a symbol ofhope for our children, of coexistence with and intimate connection to our environment. This design depicts thedelicate balance and dynamic interrelationship of our world: the pristine blue sky and sea, people, nature and theuniverse.

ivAnnouncement of Winners
The winners of the inaugural Blue Planet Prize were announced during UNCED, which took
place in Rio de Janeiro from June 3 to June 14, 1992. On June 4, the Foundation held a media
reception at the Meridien Hotel in Rio de Janeiro. On June 8, the winners were announced in
the Briefing Room of the Rio Centro Convention Center, the same room in which the United
Nations held its UNCED press conference. The Foundation also sponsored a display boothspotlighting its activities at Global Forum ’92, an event organized by a number of
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and held during UNCED in Rio’s Flamengo Park.

Attending the awards announcement were, from left, Richard
Sandbrook, executive director of the IIED; Maurice Strong,
secretary-general of UNCED*; Dr. Saburo Okita, former
minister of Foreign Affaires and a director of the Asahi GlassFoundation; Hideaki Yamashita, chairman of the Asahi GlassFoundation; Ambassador Masaki Seo; and Osamu Shiragami,
senior executive director of the Asahi Glass Foundation.

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Blue Planet Prize Laureates since 1992
Year

Laureate
Dr. Syukuro Manabe1992

1993

1994
1995

1996

International Institute for Environ- Founded inment and Development (IIED)UK
Late Dr. Charles D. KeelingUSA

IUCN-The World Conservation
Union

Headquartered inSwitzerland

Prof. Dr. Eugen Seibold

Germany

Mr. Lester R. Brown

USA

Late Dr. Bert Bolin

SwedenMr. Maurice F. Strong

CanadaDr. Wallace S. Broecker

USA

M.S. Swaminathan Research
Foundation

Founded inIndia

Dr. James E. Lovelock
1997

1998
1999
2000
2001
2002

vi

CountryYear

Laureate

2003

Dr. Gene E. Likens & Late Dr. F.
Herbert Bormann

USAUKConservation International (CI)

Headquartered in USA

Late Prof. Mikhail I. Budyko

RussiaLate Mr. David R. Brower

USA

Dr. Paul R. Ehrlich

USA

Prof. Qu Geping

China

Dr. Theo Colborn

USA

Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt

SwedenLord (Robert) May of Oxford

Australia

Dr. Norman MyersUK

Prof. Harold A. Mooney

USA

Prof. J. Gustave Speth

USA

2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010

2011

CountryUSA

Dr. Vo Quy

VietnamDr. Susan Solomon

USA

Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland

NorwayLate Prof. Sir Nicholas Shackleton UK
Dr. Gordon Hisashi SatoUSA

Dr. Akira Miyawaki

Japan

Dr. Emil SalimIndonesia

Prof. Joseph L. Sax

USA

Dr. Amory B. Lovins

USA

Dr. Claude Lorius

FranceProf. José Goldemberg

BrazilProf. Hirofumi Uzawa

JapanLord (Nicholas) Stern of Brentford UKDr. James Hansen

USASir Bob Watson

UKDr. Jane Lubchenco

USA

Barefoot College

Founded inIndia

Some Background on the Blue Planet Prize
Humankind has only one home, the Earth, and we all bear responsibility to leave it ina habitable condition for future generations. In recognition of those whose efforts help
provide solutions for global environmental problems, the Foundation established theBlue Planet Prize, an annual international award presented to individuals andorganizations that have made outstanding contributions toward that aim. The year theprize was first awarded, 1992, was the year that the world turned its attention toenvironmental issues at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. In keeping with the spiritof that conference, the Foundation hopes to help raise awareness of and interest inenvironmental issues throughout the world while expressing its appreciation for theachievements of the winners.
Each year, the Foundation chooses two individuals or organizations whosepioneering achievements represent major contributions to sustainable development
and to solving such environmental problems as climate change, global warming, acidrain, ozone layer depletion, ecosystem destruction in tropical rainforests, species
extinction and desertification. The Foundation is also keen to recognize work in areas
related to energy, food, population, waste treatment, recycling, as well as environmental
management, ethics, philosophy and education. The work of the award winners mustin some way contribute to the harmonious coexistence of people, society and theenvironment.
They should contribute to humankind’s pool of scientific knowledge as well as
to the realization of a global community that uses science and technology for the goodof all. Candidate nominations are received from more than 120 countries worldwide.
Living citizens of all nations, irrespective of gender, race or religion, are eligible.
A short list of nominees is compiled by the Selection Committee. Final decisions
are made by the Presentation Committee and nominees are approved by the Foundation’s
Board of Directors and Councilors.
The winners are presented with a certificate of merit, a commemorative trophy
and a supplementary prize of 50 million yen at an awards ceremony. The ceremonytakes place in Tokyo and is attended each year by members of the Japanese royalfamily, government officials, foreign diplomats, academics and researchers, as well as
representatives from many fields of endeavor. On the day following the awards
ceremony, the laureates present lectures on their work to an audience at the Unitedvii

Nations University in Tokyo. This lecture event is well attended by the general public,
journalists, environmental specialists and academics from related fields. For the past
twenty years, the Foundation has published a full transcript of the lectures. In 1997,2002, and 2007, to commemorate the fifth, tenth and fifteenth anniversaries of theprize, respectively, “A Better Future for the Planet Earth” books were published.
Volume Ⅳ is a five-year compilation of the prize winners’ lectures and essays from2007 to 2011.
The Blue Planet Prize was so named in the hope that our blue planet will be ashared possession capable of sustaining all life time far into the future. The Earth is a
precious ecosystem, home to every living thing. At the Asahi Glass Foundation, we
sincerely hope that people around the globe will work toward protecting our planet
from environmental deterioration, ensuring that the natural environment continues toexist for future generations. We believe wholeheartedly that through the ingenuity andearnest efforts of humanity the serious environmental problems we now face will
someday be solved.
Information on the laureates and their achievements is also available online on
the Foundation’s web site: http: //www.af-info.or.jp.

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