The DBU Highlights the Importance of the Oceans for Climate, Biodiversity and Food Supply

ERFURT, Germany, October 28, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

German Environmental Prize awarded to marine biologist Antje Boetius and a team of wastewater experts from Leipzig

The German Environmental Foundation (DBU) has awarded the German Environmental Prize for the 26th time. Today in Erfurt, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the Head of the Board of Trustees of the DBU and Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter, presented marine biologist Antje Boetius (51, Bremerhaven) and an interdisciplinary team of wastewater experts from Leipzig that includes Roland A. Müller (55), Manfred van Afferden (57), Mi-Yong Lee (47) and Wolf-Michael Hirschfeld (70) with the 2018 German Environmental Prize -the most prestigious independent environmental prize in Europe with a remuneration of EUR 500,000. With this year's prize, the DBU is highlighting the importance of our oceans when it comes to protecting our climate, biodiversity and food supply, while also warning of the dangers of climate change, pollution and overfishing. This year's prize also draws attention to the United Nations' call to action to provide the world's population with safe drinking water and adequate sanitation by 2030, which would serve to significantly improve living conditions around the globe.   

Oceans act as the most important heat stores on the planet  

The DBU emphasized that oceans provide an important habitat for both flora and fauna, regulate the Earth's climate and act as the most important heat stores on the planet. They have mitigated many of the effects of industrialisation and have absorbed a great deal of carbon dioxide and heat. In large part, they determine the Earth's weather patterns as well because they often serve as the source of winds, storms and precipitation. And right now, our oceans are in critical condition. The melting of the polar ice caps, global warming, industrialisation, overfishing, and unimaginable quantities of waste all pose growing threats to this ecosystem. The number of so-called "dead zones" in the world's oceans - hypoxic or low-oxygen areas that are unable to support marine life - have grown by more than one-third since 1995. There are currently 400 of these dead zones around the world covering an area of more than 245,000 km^[2], which is more than two-thirds the size of Germany.