Sandra Postel is the founding director of the Global Water Policy Project. She is a world expert on fresh water and related ecosystems. From 2009-2015, she served as Freshwater Fellow of the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, an ...

. She is the author of scores of articles and several books on global freshwater issues, including ''Last Oasis'', which appears in eight languages, and most recently ''Replenish: The Virtuous Cycle of Water and Prosperity''. She is the recipient of four honorary doctor of science degrees. From 1988 to 1994 she served as the Vice President for Research at the

Worldwatch Institute The Worldwatch Institute was a globally focused environmental research organization based in Washington, D.C., founded by Lester R. Brown. Worldwatch was named as one of the top ten sustainable development research organizations by Globescan Su ...

. Postel has taught water policy courses at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

and Mount Holyoke College. In 2002,

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it ...

magazine named her as one of their "Scientific American 50" to recognize her contribution to science and technology. Postel's work aims to build a more water-secure world for all earthly beings. In 2021, Postel 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 ...

, often described as the Nobel Prize for water.

Overview

After graduate school, Postel worked as a natural resources consultant with a private firm in Menlo Park, California. In 1983 she joined the Worldwatch Institute, where she assumed the global water portfolio. From 1988 to 1994 she served as Vice President for Research. She left the Worldwatch Institute in 1994, moved to Massachusetts, and founded the Global Water Policy Project, which continues to serve as the umbrella for Postel's research, writing, speaking and consulting. In 2009, she was appointed Freshwater Fellow of the National Geographic Society, a position she held through 2015. She now lives in the Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico.

Awards

'' Scientific American 50''. Postel was honored for promoting "sweeping changes aimed at preserving the world's dwindling supplies of freshwater." In 2021, Postel won the Stockholm Water Prize, jointly awarded by Swedish Royal Academy of the Sciences and Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI). According to the prize committee “no one has exhibited more commitment, capacity, courage, and perseverance to address far-ranging and critical water issues. Her work has been instrumental in shifting both public and professional awareness about the water crisis.”

Bibliography

*''Last Oasis: Facing Water Scarcity'', W.W. Norton & Co., 1992. *''Pillar of Sand: Can the Irrigation Miracle Last?'', W.W. Norton & Co., 1999. *''Rivers for Life: Managing Water for People and Nature'', (with Brian Richter), Island Press, 2003. *''Replenish: The Virtuous Cycle of Water and Prosperity'', Island Press, 2017.

References

Global Water Policy Project, Sandra Postel biography pageEcosystem Marketplace, "Sandra Postel: A Life Aquatic"

External links

Global Water Policy ProjectWorldwatch Institute

Scientific American magazinePost Carbon Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Postel, Sandra Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American environmentalists American women environmentalists American non-fiction environmental writers Wittenberg University alumni American earth scientists 21st-century American women