The Luc Hoffmann Institute is mourning the passing away Thursday of Dr Luc Hoffmann at the age of 93 and celebrates his extraordinary life-long contribution to nature conservation.
Dr Hoffmann was one of WWF International’s first board members and served as WWF International’s first vice president until 1988.
An ardent ornithologist from early childhood, Dr Luc Hoffmann obtained a PhD in Zoology from Basel University and authored more than 60 books and publications on birds and their habitats. Throughout his life, Dr Hoffmann remained committed to conservation through his personal work and through the activities of numerous institutes and foundations.
In addition to his work in support of WWF, Dr Hoffmann served as director of Wetlands International, vice-president of IUCN and established the Fondation Internationale du Banc d’Arguin in Mauritania. He was a key figure in the original fight to save Spain’s Coto Doñana and was the driving force behind the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
In a lasting legacy to honour Dr Hoffmann’s visionary work, in 2012 WWF and the MAVA Foundation established the Luc Hoffmann Institute to address some of the planet’s most difficult environmental challenges through sustainability science solutions.
Dr Jonathan Hutton, Director of the Luc Hoffmann Institute, said “It is a privilege for me to be leading an institute that honours Luc Hoffmann’s conservation legacy. He helped to pioneer the modern conservation movement and the Luc Hoffmann Institute will carry on this innovation and forward thinking – catalyzing new ideas to help address the complex and inter-connected nature of this century’s conservation challenges.”
Dr Hoffmann was awarded WWF’s highest conservation honour, the Duke of Edinburgh Conservation Award, in 1998. He was also decorated with the French Legion of Honour in 2014 and the 2016 Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation award for biodiversity conservation.
Luc Hoffmann’s son André Hoffmann currently serves on the advisory board of the Luc Hoffmann Institute.
