CRI听力:IWMI Wins 2012 Stockholm Water Prize

On the World Water Day, Professor Per Arne Malmquist, director of the Nominating Committee of the Stockholm Water Prize announced that the 2012 laureate is the International Water Management Institute.

"It is a research organization, but they are given the prize in the sector of practices and policies because they are doing research that can be used and the results are used widely in developing countries mainly in Africa and Asia. "

Malmquist said that from 2002 to 2007, the institute led a team of 700 scientists to produce one of the most important research programs on agricultural water management. The publication of Water for Food, Water for Life: A Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture, established a good knowledge base on the status of global water and land resources.

"They are in the agriculture sector and that is extremely important because agriculture worldwide uses 70 percent of the fresh water available, and if we could improve or increase the productivity of the use of water in agriculture, it's extremely important, so increasing productivity in agriculture is the main focus and they have, as you know the water is a complex issue and so it is not only the productivity, it is also the health of people, the health of the environment and it's about governance, water administration and they are into all those sectors."

Malmquist explained that by providing clear evidence of where and how water scarcity has increased and its impact on all sectors of the economy, the report's findings have placed sustainable water resource management as a priority issue for governments, industries and international organizations around the world.

"They are working in the field, working directly with the farmers, helping water administration very practically, they have a huge data base and information system that you can download freely from their webpage and there are 100 thousand downloads per month of their articles and recommendations and reports."

He said the institute's research work in the application of remote sensing and geographic information systems has led to the creation of a water accounting system. Its publication of An Ecosystem Services Approach to Water and Food Security outlined how a new ecosystem-based approach to agriculture can protect natural systems and potentially double agricultural production.

Founded in 1984, the institute is a scientific research organization focusing on sustainable use of land and water resources in agriculture.

Since 1991, the Stockholm Water Prize has been presented annually by the Stockholm International Water Institute to an individual, organization or institution for outstanding water-related achievements.

The prize includes 150 thousand US dollars and a crystal sculpture. The awards will be presented by the Swedish King Carl XIV Gustaf on August 30 during the World Water Week in Stockholm.

For CRI, this is Chen Xuefei reporting from Stockholm.