Pavan Sukhdev, Gretchen Daily Awarded Tyler Prize 2020

The Tyler Prize, instituted in memory of conservationists, philanthropists and animal-lovers John and Alice Tyler has been announced.

The award, that was started in 1973, aims to recognize those working to preserve and enhance our world, and inspire others to understand the importance of the environment. This year, the winners are Pavan Sukhdev , Environmental Economist, and Gretchen C Daily, Conservation biologist. Tyler Laureates receive a $200,000 cash prize and a medallion.

“The Tyler Prize is honored to recognize two remarkable individuals, both pioneers in illuminating and quantifying the economic value of our natural environment. Conservation Biologist Gretchen C. Daily, and Environmental Economist Pavan Sukhdev. Each have trailblazed the valuing of natural capital – in rigorous scientific and economic terms – recognizing nature’s vital role in supporting human well being.”, states the message on the site.

Pavan ‘s field of studies include green economy and international finance. He was the Special Adviser and Head of UNEP’s Green Economy Initiative, that focused on demonstrating that the  greening of economies is actually an opportunity for growing wealth, increasing decent employment, and reducing persistent poverty. Pavan was also the Study Leader for the ground breaking TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) study . Under his leadership, TEEB sized the global problem of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation in economic and human welfare terms, and proposed solutions targeted at policy-makers, administrators, businesses and citizens. TEEB presented its widely acclaimed Final Report suite at the UN meeting by Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Nagoya, Japan.

He is the Founder-CEO of GIST Advisory, a specialist consulting firm which helps governments and corporations discover, measure, value, and manage their impacts on natural and human capital.

Gretchen is the Bing Professor of Environmental Science in the Department of Biology at Stanford University, the director of the Center for Conservation Biology at Stanford, and a senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. Her main research interests include biogeography, conservation biology and ecology. Daily is also a co-founder of the Natural Capital Project, a fellow of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences,the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.

A previous Indian winner of the award has been Sir Partha Dasgupta, Environmental economist, back in 2016, and ‘Ram’ Ramanathan in 2009.