«Prof. Dr. Lawrence S. Hamilton, forest ecologist, born 1925 in Toronto, Canada, Professor of Natural Resources Conservation at Cornell University, New York, initiator of Asian mountain programmes at the East-West Centre in Hawaii, leader of the ‘Mountain Protected Areas’ sub-commission of the World Conservation Union, played a fundamental role in the worldwide conservation of mountain areas in connection with sustainable development of mountain communities.

His tireless support in creating and managing mountain protected areas and his vision for establishing corridors of mountain protected areas passing through whole continents are unparalleled. His regular newsletter met with world wide appraisal and his enthusiasm inspired a network of scientists and managers caring for conservation of mountain areas. Lawrence Hamilton’s publications and conferences are proof of his commitment to preserving the mountain areas as biological and cultural treasures for our future generations.

He was one of the small group of scientists who initiated, and gave freely of their skills, to place «mountains» on the global agenda at the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio 1992, and subsequently through various fora at international, national and local levels.»

Albert Mountain Award 2004

Lawrence S. Hamilton died on 6 October 2016 in Charlotte, Vermont, USA.