Professor John Anthony Allan from King’s College in London has been named the
2008 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate by the Stockholm International Water Institute.
Allan pioneered the development of key concepts in the understanding and
communication of water issues and how they are linked to agriculture, climate
change, economics and politics.
People do not only consume water when they drink it or take a shower. Allan,
71, strikingly demonstrated this by introducing the “virtual water”
concept, which measures how water is embedded in the production and trade of
food and consumer products. Behind that morning cup of coffee are 36 gallons of
water used to grow, produce, package and ship the beans. The ubiquitous
hamburger needs an estimated 600 gallons of water. Per capita, Americans
consume around 1,750 gallons of virtual water every day, more than triple that
of a Chinese person.
Virtual water has major impacts on global trade policy and research, especially
in water-scarce regions, and has redefined discourse in water policy and
management. By explaining how and why nations such as the United States, Argentina and Brazil export billions of gallons of water each year,
while others like Japan, Egypt and Italy import billions, the virtual water concept has
opened the door to more productive water use. National, regional and global
water and food security, for example, can be enhanced when water-intensive
commodities are traded from places where they are economically viable to
produce to places where they are not. While studying water scarcity in the
Middle East, Allan developed the theory of using virtual water import, via food,
as an alternative water source to reduce pressure on the scarcely available
domestic water resources there and in other water-short
regions.
In its citation, the international nominating committee wrote: “Professor
Tony Allan is awarded for the Stockholm Water Prize for his unique, pioneering
and long-lasting work in education and raising the awareness internationally of
interdisciplinary relationships between agricultural production, water use,
economies and political processes. The improved understanding of trade and
water management issues on local, regional and global scales are of the highest
relevance for the successful and sustainable use of water resources.”
