John Anthony Allan (27 January 1937 – 15 April 2021), sometime cited as Tony Allan, was a British

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

. He was awarded the

Stockholm Water Prize Presented annually since 1991, the Stockholm Water Prize is an award that recognizes outstanding achievements in water related activities. Over the past three decades, Stockholm Water Prize Laureates have come from across the world and represente ...

in 2008 for his revolutionary

virtual water The virtual water trade (also known as embedded or embodied water) is the hidden flow of water in food or other commodities that are traded from one place to another. The virtual water trade is the idea that when goods and services are exchanged, s ...

concept. Although being an emeritus of the

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury ...

and

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

, he still acted as a teaching Professor at

Education

Allan studied at

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills ( Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_cha ...

from 1955-1958, graduating with a first-class

B.A Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in Geography. He commenced doctoral studies in 1966 at the

in London, completing a PhD on water management in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

in 1971.

Research

Having been a long time water analyst with emphasis on the Middle East, he coined the term

in 1993 after having been inspired by Gideon Fishelson from Tel Aviv University, who criticised his government over the amount of water that had been used to produce and export citrus fruits to the European Union. Allan then researched trade figures of Middle Eastern states to conclude that this water-scarce region was only able to survive through large quantities of food imports in grain, livestock etc. Thus, the region was not dependent on its own scarce water resources but could purchase water already embedded in agricultural produce. It was this logic that enabled Tony Allan to challenge the then prevailing thesis that the wars in the next century will be fought over water. In essence he explained how the importation of water embedded mostly in cereals into water-scarce regions of the world via trade explained why wars over water were both unnecessary and unlikely. This opened up a plethora of new research directions for his many graduate students working in water constrained parts of the world. His seminal work entitled The Middle East Water Question: Hydropolitics and the Global Economy captured a lifetime of research and has become a cornerstone for policy-makers and researchers. A significant contribution to this paradigm shift has been the emergence of the concept of benefit-sharing as opposed to water-sharing, or the management of transboundary waters as a public good.

Stockholm Water Prize

In March 2008, Allan was announced to receive the Stockholm Water Prize, which is the equivalent to an environmental

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

according to some commentators. The international nominated Allan for it due to 'his unique, pioneering and long lasting work in education and raising the awareness internationally of the interdisciplinary relationships between agricultural production, water use, economies and political processes'.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allan, John Anthony British geographers People from London 1937 births 2021 deaths Alumni of University College, Durham Alumni of SOAS University of London Academics of King's College London