6th Biophilia Award
in Environmental Humanities and Social Sciences

In the year 2000 the BBVA Foundation established the protection of the natural environment as a key focus area, addressing the three facets of scientific research, conservation projects, and public communication and awareness.

Since 2001 the Foundation has supported research projects in the environmental sciences, with an accent on ecology and biodiversity conservation. In 2004 it created the BBVA Foundation Awards for Biodiversity Conservation, encompassing research endeavors, projects in Spain and Latin America, and environmental communication. Since 2017, these Biodiversity Conservation Awards have added a worldwide category recognizing particularly significant actions to preserve species, habitats and ecosystems. Their research modality has been integrated since 2008 within the Frontiers of Knowledge Awards.

The BBVA Foundation Biophilia Award for Environmental Communication was launched in 2019 with the aim of distinguishing the efforts of professionals and organizations in any country that have contributed exceptionally to improving public understanding and awareness of environmental issues.

The name of the award alludes to the biophilia hypothesis proposed by naturalist Edward O. Wilson, 2010 Frontiers of Knowledge Laureate in Ecology and Conservation Biology, denoting the deep connection that we as humans instinctively feel with nature and all forms of life.

This edition of the Biophilia Award expands and delineates its conceptual perimeter, by expressly and preferentially including contributions from the realms of the humanities and social sciences that help reframe humankind’s relationship with nature. The aim is to recognize narratives and interpretations which, while being reliant on or compatible with environmental science knowledge, contribute from these disciplines to shaping the perspectives, conceptual frameworks and values of society as a whole with regard to the environment.

The Biophilia Award, as such, will distinguish contributions to the understanding and preservation of life in all its forms, including its biological and physical framework.