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tally friendly while each of the other four prize categories varies
with each award
The second awards (2004-2006)
In the second awards (2004-2006), prizes were awarded as
follows:
• The topic for the surface water prize was water harvesting.
No prize was awarded due to a lack of nominations that
met the required standards and conditions.
• Management of coastal aquifers was the topic for the
ground water prize, which was awarded to the water
section research institute at the King Fahd University for
Petroleum and Minerals, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and to
Professor Abdelkader Larabi of Morocco.
• In the alternative (non-traditional) water resources
branch, the prize was based on the treatment and reuse of
wastewater, and was awarded to Professor Abdul Latif
Ahmad of Malaysia.
• For water resources management, the prize focused on
integrated and sustainable water resources management
in arid and semi-arid regions, and was awarded to
Professor Howard S. Wheater of the United Kingdom.
• The King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology –
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia won the prize for the protec-
tion of water resources for its work concerning ground
water pollution by urban activities.
The third awards (2006-2008)
Looking towards the third awards, which will be given in 2008,
the topics for specialised branches are as follows:
• Surface water: sedimentation control in surface water systems
• Ground water: exploration and assessment of ground
water
• Alternative (non-traditional) water resources: innovative
methods and systems in desalination
• Water resources management and protection: water
demand management in urban areas.
Any individual or organization that has made a pioneering
scientific contribution in one of the branches of the prize will
be considered eligible for nomination. The entrant must be
nominated by a well known scientific organization.
Academic or scientific organizations can nominate one or
more individuals or organizations. A scientific organization
can nominate itself, but nominations put forward by individ-
uals, whether on their own behalf or on behalf of others, will
not be accepted.
No more than five research or work projects can be submit-
ted for nomination. All of these should be related to the current
nominated prize topic, and must not have previously been
awarded any international prize, either on its own or jointly
with another organization.
Nominated works are sent to specialized referees across the
world, and winners are announced in September of the prize
year (e.g. 2006; 2008), when the topics for the next prizes are
also announced.
By perpetuating this two-year cycle of renewed topics within
the prize categories, the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz
International Prize for Water can help to ensure continued work
and progress towards the provision and preservation of adequate
and sustainable water resources across the world, and especially
in the arid regions where they are needed the most.
for data documenting and support for desert-related scientific
research activities conducted by the specialized divisions of
the university. The centre is also continually committed to
cooperating and strengthening links with the authorities
concerned in drought and desert studies at local, regional and
international levels. It has participated in various academic
activities, particularly ‘University Days’ and ‘Community Days’
and has provided the relevant authorities with seeds and trees.
The centre has also provided students and researchers, from
within the university and from outside, with technical coun-
selling. It has organized various scientific conferences and
seminars, and has taken an active part in such events in accor-
dance with its focus on cooperation and the exchange of data
and knowledge. Its cooperation with governmental authorities
and non-governmental bodies at all local, regional and interna-
tional levels, has led to its participation in a number of research
and scientific projects, including agreements of cooperation with
some outstanding organizations that share its research activities.
Having laid a firm foundation due to the support and assis-
tance offered by the university administration, the centre
started working to improve its goals and extend its activities in
tune with more recent developments. Thus, the terms ‘envi-
ronment’ and ‘water’ were added to its name to reflect broader
environmental concerns and the need for processes to conserve
water and make it more available by developing new, low-cost
technical methods. In these areas, several studies and applied
projects were implemented, such as ‘King Fahad’s Project for
rainwater harvesting and storage in the Kingdom’. In addition,
the centre adopted the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz
International Prize for Water and became its secretary’s head-
quarters, with the director of the centre as secretary general.
The prize
The Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water
is intended to reward the efforts undertaken by innovative
scholars and scientists as well as applied organizations in the
realm of water resources worldwide. It was established to
acknowledge the special contributions that have been made to
the development of scientific solutions that help solve the prob-
lems associated with the provision and preservation of
adequate and sustainable water resources, particularly in arid
regions.
The prize includes awards according to five categories:
• Creativity prize
• Surface water
• Ground water
• Alternative (non-traditional) water resources
• Water resources management and protection.
The creativity prize is SAR1 million (approximately
USD266,000), while each of the other categories carries a prize
of SAR500,000 (USD133,000). Prizewinners also receive a gold
medallion, a trophy and a certificate.
Prizes are awarded every two years, and nominations must
be received by the end of each odd-numbered year – for
example,
nominations for the third awards (2006-2008),
nominations must be received by 31 December 2007
.
The creativity prize covers several different water-related
subjects simultaneously. It is awarded for any original work
(research, invention, technique etc.) that is considered as a
breakthrough in any water-related field. The work must be
practically applicable, economically feasible and environmen-