World Water Week 2024

This year’s World Water Week, which took place online and in Stockholm, Sweden, from the 25^th–29^th August 2024, was dedicated to the theme Bridging Borders: Water for a Peaceful and Sustainable Future. It demanded recognising the regional and global interconnectivity of communities and nations and how water-related solutions are key to delivering the Sustainable Development Goals. 

More than half of the world’s population live in international river basins, meaning that substantial land areas and populations will benefit from any improved water cooperation. Water cooperation is equally essential on a subnational level, such as between different administrative units or neighbouring communities, and when water is shared between different sectors in a society, such as urban and rural.

“The concept of borders is made-up and not something that naturally exists. It stops us from working together, and it is something we need to work against. That's why I think that the theme of this year is so important. In the end all of us are striving for the same goal: an Earth we can live on with good waters and lands,” said Aana Edmondson, Board member in Sáminuorra, the Sámi national youth organisation. The Sámi people are the Indigenous People who reside in Sápmi, which encompasses the northern parts of Sweden, Norway, Finland and western Russia.

Understanding the nexus among hydrology, climate change and sustainability 

This year’s Stockholm Water Price was awarded to Professor Taikan Oki for his world-renowned research on the virtual water trade, digital river mapping and inclusion of human activity in the water cycle. He found his passion for water by accident and went on to make significant contributions to climate simulation models.

“Professor Taikan Oki’s work has greatly advanced our understanding of the nexus among hydrology, climate change and sustainability. (He) is selected for the award for his outstanding contributions to global water balance studies, global virtual water flows, and the spatial and temporal variability of annually renewable water,” the Stockholm Water Prize Nominating Committee states.

Turning data into actionable knowledge

Christopher Whitfeld and Wenqi (Jonathan) Zhao from the United Kingdom received the Stockholm Junior Water Prize 2024 for their work on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) pollution in the Thames Basin/UK. 

PFAS pollution is a growing concern world-wide. PFAS do not occur naturally and have only been produced and used, in the textile industry, for example, since the late 1940s. Whitfeld and Zhao developed a geospatial neural network, predicting PFAS values to within 10 per cent of experimentally validated values.

The Jury noted that Whitfield and Zhao had found “a way to take data and turn it into actionable knowledge. [They have] identified PFAS hotspots using machine learning, field tested their results, developed a cost-effective filtration system, and reached out to local governments and environmental organizations to raise awareness.”

The Diploma of Excellence was awarded to Shanni Valeria Mora Fajardo and Rosa Mendoza Sosa from Mexico for their work on how to reuse inked water with homemade filtration to produce veggie gardens.

The People’s Choice Award went to Manoel José Nunes Neto from Brazil, for developing a low-cost aquatic rover: an autonomous vehicle for water to measure physical-chemical parameters in freshwater ecosystems, such as turbidity, pH, dissolved oxygen, and temperature, to identify envi-ronmental impacts.

Ines Lechner, editor Rural 21

More information:

• Visit the website of the World Water Week
• Learn more on the price winners and their projects
• More information on Professor Taikan Oki
• Interview with Professor Taikan Oki