WASHINGTON, D.C., September 13, 2005 -- Former World Resources Institute Vice President for International Conservation and Development Dr. Kenton Miller has been awarded the prestigious Bruno H. Schubert Environment Prize for his lifetime dedication to national parks and conservation. Dr. Miller accepted the prize at a ceremony in Frankfurt, Germany on July 1, 2005.

The Bruno H. Schubert Foundation recognizes world leaders in environmental issues each year. Previous winners include the current executive director of the United Nations Environment Program Klaus Toepfer in 2002, and explorer Jacques Cousteau in 1983.

An announcement of the winners released by the foundation declared Dr. Miller the father of the modern concept of the national park, a reference to his efforts assisting developing countries establish national parks and reserves.

In accepting the award Dr. Miller noted that after a concerted effort over a 20-year period by governments and international organizations, over 12% of the earth's terrestrial surface is now covered by protected areas. “The significance of this achievement is paramount to the human future,” Dr. Miller said. “Without forgetting the traditional values that people derive from these areas, including recreation, tourism, and spiritual and cultural experiences, global attention now looks to protected areas to secure and supply genetic resources, clean water and air, and increasingly, research opportunities on fundamental ecological questions that require wildland environments.”

Dr. Miller came to WRI in 1988 to serve as Director of the Biological Resources Program, and served as Vice President for International Conservation and Development from 2000 to 2004. At WRI, he was instrumental in developing the Global Biodiversity Strategy, a cooperative effort among governments, NGOs, communities and UN agencies.

Several other environmental leadership roles contributed to his nomination. These include serving as chair of the World Conservation Union's (IUCN) World Commission on Protected Areas from 1976 to 1983, a role he reprised from 2000 to 2004, and as Secretary General of the Third World Parks Congress in 1982. In 1983 he achieved the highest post in world conservation by being elected to the post of Director General of the World Conservation Union based in Switzerland.

A career of over 40 years has taken him around the world. Raised in Chicago , he became a graduate of the University of Washington's School of Forestry in 1963, and received his Ph.D. in Forestry Economics and Wildland Management from the State University of New York in 1968. He was a forestry officer for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization from 1965-1975. From 1975-1983 he served as an associate professor of natural resources at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He is a recipient of an honorary doctorate from the International University of Costa Rica, and the Order of the Golden Ark.

Dr. Miller retired from WRI in January 2004, and now lives with his wife Susan in a log home built in the forests of West Virginia.

For more information, contact:

World Resources Institute
Paul Mackie, senior media officer, +1(202)729-7684, pmackie@wri.org