Gregory M Thaler Awarded International Science Prize by HGBS for Book ‘Saving a Rainforest and Losing the World’
The Hans Günter Brauch Foundation for Peace and Ecology in the Anthropocene (HGBS) has announced that Associate Professor Gregory M. Thaler, who recently joined the School of Geography and the Environment at Oxford, is one of the recipients of its prestigious International Science Prize.
The award, focused this year on the theme of "Ecocide: Impacts of Wars and Climate Change on Food Security," highlights Thaler's exceptional contributions to the fields of environmental conservation and political ecology.
Professor Thaler, an interdisciplinary environmental social scientist, is celebrated for his 2024 book Saving a Rainforest and Losing the World: Conservation and Displacement in the Global Tropics (Yale University Press). The book delves into the complex consequences of global conservation initiatives, addressing how efforts to protect tropical rainforests through agricultural development often displace deforestation to new frontiers, accelerating global environmental and social degradation. This critical analysis, grounded in six years of fieldwork in tropical forest landscapes, offers vital insights into the intersections of environmental governance, economic development, and social justice.
Thaler said: ‘I am thrilled to receive this recognition for Saving a Rainforest and Losing the World, and I’m deeply grateful to everyone who has supported this project. In a time of global ecocide, I hope this book can help chart a path away from false solutions and towards more liveable futures.’
Thaler, who holds a PhD in Government from Cornell University, has spent his academic career examining global environmental issues, agrarian politics, and the political economy of development. His work highlights the unintended repercussions of conservation and development efforts, which can lead to new frontiers of environmental degradation and dispossession of local communities, particularly in the Global South.
The award ceremony for the HGBS Prize, presented jointly to Professor Thaler and the Greek international environmental lawyer Dr Victor Tsilonis, will take place on 10 October 2024, in Mosbach, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
