(Foto: Guy Ackermans)
The annual 200-euro prize is awarded by the Spanish bank group BBVA. Scheffer shares the prize with the American Gene Likens. Both scientists have received the prize for their efforts to understand how nature responds to human interventions.
The others who have received this ecology prize before me are all big names. So I feel flattered.
Scheffer demonstrated that in response to gradual change, ecosystems can abruptly shift from a stable state to a totally different one. Likens made his name with research on acid rain in the US. Scheffer feels honoured.