John Anthony Allan or Tony Allan is a British geographer. In 2008, he received the Stockholm Water Prize in 2008 for his approach on Virtual water and other key concepts on water-related topics in the field of agriculture and climate change and their impact on political and economic processes. Officially already an emeritus, he is still active as a professor at King’s College of the University of London.
Education
Allan was born on 2 January 1938. He is holding a B.A. from Durham University and a PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.
Work
Allan is an expert for water-related issues in the MENA region. For over 35 years he has advised on the integrated transboundary water management of every water basin in the Middle east. He has worked for numerous governments, the World Bank and the European Union. Allan was a professor at the School for Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and at the King’s College London of the University of London.[1]
He is still active as a researcher and supervisor of research students of the SOAS-King’s College Water Research Group that he founded.[2]
Allan is an editor for the scientific journal Water Policy.[3]
Research Interests
In 1993 Allan introduced his concept of virtual water. This is a way to measure how much water is involved and used in the production of a good. Virtual water is relevant in both agricultural and industrial products (kcl). He was inspired by Gideon Fishelson’s (Tel Aviv University) critique on the amount of water that is exported in the form of irrigated citrus fruits to the EU. Allan has also coined the terms of “problemshed” and “hydro-hegemony” .
His work still contributes to a better understanding of actual and latent conflicts over water resources, particularly on international level in cases of shared water bodies such as the Nile. untries, while providing perspective on economic and political processes that can make food and water security possible for all nations in such water basins.[4]
Other research topics include
- communication of water issues and their mutual impact on and from political, social and economic contexts
- fundamentals of the water cycle and corresponding policy options.
- global water resources with regard to population growth
- institutional landscape in water policy
- funding of the water sector.[5]
Publications
Allan has published over 100 scientific articles in journals in the fields of natural resource management, political science and water. He has written or edited books, some examples are here.
- Virtual Water: Tackling the Threat to Our Planet's Most Precious Resource (2011)
- The Middle East Water Question: Hydro-politics and the Global Economy (2001)
- Policy options in water stressed states: emerging lessons from the Middle East and Southern Africa (2003)
- Water Resources, Prevention of Violent Conflict and the Coherence of EU Policies in the Horn of Africa (1998)
Stockholm Water Prize
On 19 March 2008 Allan was awarded the Stockholm Water Prize which is a very prestigious award in the water community. The international jury praised Allan 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'.[4]
Further Links
King's College London
School of Oriental and African Studies
Stockholm water prize
Water Policy Journal
References
- ↑ http://www.siwi.org/prizes/stockholmwaterprize/laureates/professor-john-anthony-allan-great-britain
- ↑ http://www.siwi.org/prizes/stockholmwaterprize/laureates/professor-john-anthony-allan-great-britain
- ↑ http://www.iwaponline.com/wp/edboard.htm
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 _
- ↑ http://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/geography/people/academic/allan/index.aspx
