The Asahi Glass Foundation announced Thursday it has awarded two American scientists with the 11th Blue Planet Prize, an international environmental award.
The winners were Harold A. Mooney, a Stanford University professor, and James Gustave Speth, a dean and professor at Yale University.
"We must be attentive to nurturing and sustaining the natural systems that provide the goods and services upon which we all depend," according to a written statement by Mooney issued at a news conference at a Tokyo hotel.
The foundation said Mooney was selected because he has introduced physiological methodology to the research of plant ecology, helping to find the relationships and impact of environmental change on plant ecology.
Speth was among the first to call for action on global climate change in the 1970s and took the lead in the search for science-based solutions to large-scale environmental threats. He is currently studying the complexities of the Kyoto Protocol.
The annual international award was launched in 1992 to honor two individuals or organizations that through their research have made significant contributions to tackling global environmental problems.
This year's winners were selected from among 132 candidates from 39 countries.