Stockholm: Rajendra Singh, an eminent environment activist, has been conferred the prestigious Stockholm Water Prize this year for his innovative water restoration efforts and extraordinary courage to empower communities in Indian villages. Singh, who is widely popular as the ‘Water Man’, was named the 2015 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate for improving water security in rural India, and for showing extraordinary courage and determination in his quest to improve the living conditions for those most in need, a statement said.

Born in 1959, Rajasthan-based Singh has dedicated himself to defeating drought and empowering communities for several decades.

Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf, Patron of the Stockholm Water Prize, will present the prize to Singh at a Royal Award Ceremony during 2015 World Water Week here on 26 August, it added.

In its citation, The Stockholm Water Prize Committee said that “today’s water problems cannot be solved by science or technology alone.

“They are instead human problems of governance, policy, leadership, and social resilience. He has literally brought villages back to life. We need to take Mr Singh’s lessons and actions to heart if we are to achieve sustainable water use in our lifetime."

Singh said the award was an honour and recognition to the traditional knowledge and techniques of water conservation in India and governments should utilise such techniques to address problems of depleting ground water level and floods.

“I dedicate this award to our traditional knowledge and techniques which are being used to recharge ground water level through structures with support of the community," Singh, who is based in Alwar district of Rajasthan, said. “Several structures were created in parts of Rajasthan through which we are recharging ground water. The technique stops evaporation of water and the level of ground water starts increasing. I am doing all such works with local communities and with support of some organisations."

Singh said he was working with the state governments of Maharashtra and Karnataka and has also forwarded some suggestions to the Central government for solving the problems of flood as well as drought. “Reacharging ground water is the solution to these problems and I have been doing this for years and now the prestigious award is dedicated to the people of villages here who have been very active with me," he said.

“When we started our work, we were only looking at the drinking water crisis and how to solve that. Today our aim is higher. This is the 21st century. This is the century of exploitation, pollution and encroachment. To stop all this, to convert the war on water into peace, that is my life’s goal," he said.

He has already won Ramon Magsaysay award in 2001 for his work on community-based water harvesting and water management.

The Stockholm Water Prize is a global award founded in 1991 and presented annually by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) to an individual, organisation or institution for outstanding water-related achievements. The Stockholm Water Prize Laureate receives $150,000 and a specially designed sculpture.

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