Sir David Attenborough, a pioneer in natural history programming for the BBC, will receive the IBC2011 International Honour for Excellence at IBC 2011 in Amsterdam.

Attenborough is being honored for his six-decade-long career in television and, in particular, his natural history work. His Atlantic Productions documentary “Flying Monsters 3D with Sir David Attenborough,” commissioned by Sky 3D, was the first 3D program to win a BAFTA Award.

The International Honour for Excellence is the highest award bestowed by IBC. It is presented to individuals and organizations which have taken the best technology available — and driven technology forward — to create the finest broadcasting content.

Attenborough joined the BBC in 1952 and first made his mark with the program “Zoo Quest” in which he and a small crew set off with a 16mm camera to a remote corner of the globe, intending to return with a rare animal for London Zoo and sufficient footage to create a television series. In the mid-1960s, Attenborough served as controller of the newly launched BBC2 where he commissioned “Monty Python’s Flying Circus.”

The IBC Awards Ceremony, which will include a tribute to Attenborough and a look at the latest stereoscopic 3D wildlife programs presented by Atlantic Productions, is on Sunday, 11 September and is open to all IBC visitors.