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"Water man of India" wins 2015 Stockholm Water Prize

Xinhua, March 20, 2015 Adjust font size:

Rajendra Singh of India on Friday was awarded the 2015 Stockholm Water Prize, "for his innovative water restoration efforts and for "improving water security in rural India."

Singh was commended by the award committee for "showing extraordinary courage and determination in his quest to improve the living conditions for those most in need."

Born in 1959, Singh -- known as the "water man of India" -- lived and worked in the arid Indian state of Rajasthan, where he for several decades dedicated himself to defeating drought and empowering communities.

"Singh's life work has been in building social capacity to solve local water problems through participatory action, empowerment of women, linking indigenous know-how with modern scientific and technical approaches and upending traditional patterns of development, resource use, and social norms," the award committee said in a statement.

Singh, on receiving the news about the prize, said: "This is very encouraging, energizing and inspiring. Through the Indian wisdom of rainwater harvesting, we have made helpless, abandoned, destitute and impoverished villages prosperous and healthy again."

Torgny Holmgren, executive director of the Stockholm International Water Institute, said: "In a world where demand for freshwater is booming, where we will face a severe water crisis within decades if we do not learn how to better take care of our water, Singh is a beacon of hope."

"He has brought villages back to life. We need to take Singh's lessons and actions to heart if we are to achieve sustainable water use in our lifetime," he added.

Singh will be presented with the prize by Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf during the 2015 World Water Week in Stockholm on August 26.

The Stockholm Water Prize, presented annually since 1991, is considered the world's most prestigious award in water-related science. It honors individuals and organizations deemed to have done to the most to conserve and protect the earth's water resources. Endit