The Water Environment Federation (WEF), a founding member of the Stockholm Water Prize, congratulates the 2019 laureate, Dr Jackie King.
The Stockholm Water Prize is a global award appointed annually by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) and Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and awarded by SIWI, to an individual, organization or institution for outstanding water-related achievements. It is the world’s most prestigious water award and honours women, men and organisations who have made extraordinary water-related achievements.
According to SIWI, Dr King led the early development of the methods as a researcher at the University of Cape Town, funded by South Africa’s Water Research Commission. Later, she and colleagues Dr Cate Brown and Dr Alison Joubert created ecosystem models to demonstrate the ecological and social implications of damming and de-watering rivers. This enabled objective assessment of the costs of water-resource developments that could emerge linked to benefits such as hydropower and irrigated crops.
Dr King’s early work influenced South Africa’s 1998 National Water Act and is increasingly guiding governments and institutions across the globe. She has worked in more than 20 countries and with governments of the Mekong, Zambezi, Indus and Okavango River Basins, among others.
SIWI notes that in its citation, the Stockholm Water Prize Nominating Committee notes that “Dr Jacqueline King has, through scientific rigour, selfless dedication and effective advocacy, transformed the way we think, talk and work with water as a flow of and for life.”
The prize will be presented to Dr King by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Patron of Stockholm Water Prize, at an Aug 28 ceremony in Stockholm. The ceremony coincides with World Water Week, which will be observed Aug 25-30.
