Prof. Otto Soemarwoto was a professor of plant physiology at Padjadjaran University and was director of the National Biology Institute

Indonesian Institute of Sciences

The Indonesian Institute of Sciences is the governmental authority for science and research in Indonesia...

 from 1964 to 1972; he also served as director of the Institute of Ecology from 1972 until 1991. His work in the latter role has been cited as a primary influence on the resettlement strategy during Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

's Saguling Dam project.

Born in Purwokerto

Purwokerto

Purwokerto is a city on the island of Java in Indonesia. It is the capital of Banyumas Regency, Central Java region. The estimated population of the city in 2005 was 249,705.-Geography:...

, as a child Soemarwoto was an avid reader, liked traveling out of town and was fond of plants. He studied at a nautical training high school in Cilacap

Cilacap

Cilacap is a regency in the southwestern part of Central Java province in Indonesia. Its capital is Cilacap, which is an municipality in its own right....

 and, after completing his training at the high school, he worked as a deck officer on a wooden boat that travelled the Jakarta-Lampung route. Soemarwoto joined the student militia during the Indonesian struggle for independence, and upon its proclamation continued his studies at the School of Agriculture at Gadjah Mada University

Gadjah Mada University

The Gadjah Mada University is the largest and the oldest national university in Indonesia . founded on December 19, 1949; although the first lecture was given on 13 March 1946. The name was taken from the name of Majapahit's Prime Minister, Gajah Mada.UGM is located in Yogyakarta, Daerah Istimewa...

 (UGM), Yogyakarta, of which he graduated in 1949.

He taught at UGM before being sent to study plant physiology at the University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...

, where he stayed until 1959. An avid environmentalist, the professor was appointed so in 1960. In 1964 he was named director of the Bogor Botanical Garden at Padjajaran University.

Soemarwoto was awarded an honorary doctorate from Wageningen University

Wageningen University

Wageningen University and Research Centre is a Dutch public university in Wageningen, The Netherlands. It consists of Wageningen University, the Van Hall-Larenstein School of Higher Professional Education, and the former agricultural research institutes of the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture...

 in Holland, the Order of the Golden Ark

Order of the Golden Ark

The Most Excellent Order of the Golden Ark was established by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands in 1971 as an order of merit. Although not awarded by, it is recognized by the government of the Netherlands as a legal order. It is awarded to people for major contributions to nature conservation...

 from Holland's Prince Bernhard, and the Global 500 award

Global 500 Roll of Honour

The United Nations Environment Programme established the Global 500 Roll of Honour in 1987 to recognize the environmental achievements of individuals and organizations around the world.The last Global 500 Roll of Honour awards were made in 2003...

 from the United Nations Environment Programme

United Nations Environment Programme

The United Nations Environment Programme coordinates United Nations environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices. It was founded as a result of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in June 1972 and has its...

.

He died in Bandung

Bandung

Bandung is the capital of West Java province in Indonesia, and the country's third largest city, and 2nd largest metropolitan area in Indonesia, with a population of 7.4 million in 2007. Located 768 metres above sea level, approximately 140 km southeast of Jakarta, Bandung has cooler...

on 1 April 2008, aged 82.

Books authored

• Berkelanjutan: Antara Konsep dan Realitas (Sustainable Development: between Concept and Reality, 2006)