The winner of the 2024 Environmental Research Prize is Sopie Bucher. The prize committee congratulates her on her master's thesis entitled The Virtue Ethics of Shrub Encroachment on Cultural Landscapes. Extensive Subalpine Grasslands in the Valais, Switzerland as a Case Study of Good Environmental Stewardship.

Laudatio by Prof. Dr. Ivo Wallimann-Helmer: ‘In her master's thesis in Environmental Sciences and Humanities, Sophie Bucher develops a virtue-ethical approach to environmental stewardship using the example of shrub encroachment in the Valais Alps. The work shows in a very convincing way how the interplay between the humanities and natural sciences can produce concrete decision-making tools for dealing with environmental challenges. The approach developed is not only extremely well defined, but also convincing in its consistent application to the analysed case study’.

Interview with Sophie Bucher (Alma&Georges, 12.12.2024)

Further information on the environmental research prize can be found here.