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Tony Allan

January 29, 1937 - April 15, 2021

To all who knew him, Tony Allan was a humble, kind and generous individual. Professor Tony Allan was an eminent scholar, most noted for his pioneering work on virtual water. He had a long and established career at the School of Oriental and African Studies and most recently at King’s College London. He was a true interdisciplinarian, starting his career as a physical geographer making a mark since the 1960s with extensive studies of Libya and working at the cutting edge of remote sensing. He was a prominent expert on the Middle East and North African region. He later engaged deeply and enthusiastically with the politics and policy of water resources management, which led to the ground-breaking work identifying the significance and role of water embedded in production and consumption. He also created and led the London Water Research Group, an inclusive and intercollegiate network of thinkers. He pushed those attending the numerous informal seminars and workshops to be more critical and better communicators. Tony received the highly prestigious Stockholm Water Prize in 2008 as well as the Florence Monito Water Prize in 2013 and the Monaco Water Prize in 2013. His curiosity and research was unstoppable, producing several classic texts, including the Middle East Water Question (2001), Virtual Water: Tackling the Threat to Our Planet's Most Precious Resource (2011) and The Oxford Handbook of Food, Water and Society (2019). He devoted many decades to research, education and communication, inspiring generations of students, academics, activists, artists, farmers and professionals across the world. Tony was a singular figure remembered for his extraordinary dedication, integrity, creativity, hard work, and courage.

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Anton Earle 2021-04-22 13:06:46 wrote:

I walked into the GIS class during my masters in Geography at SOAS in 2000 to meet Tony for the first time where he explained how remote sensing can tell us so much about landscapes, geology, climate, vegetation cover etc. And he wistfully added that there are some things GIS cant show us, "like love, between two people".... From there I decided to take his course on water and politics, eventually doing research work for him and basing my dissertation on applying the virtual water concept to southern Africa. That was the start of my career in water, but also a long friendship with Tony. He was forthright, didn't suffer fools, raged against inequity but was consistently a gentle-man. I have kept this photo at my desk since it was taken at the World Water Week prize ceremony in 2009 - many happy memories. Thank you Tony.

Anton Earle 2021-04-22 13:06:46 wrote: I walked into the GIS class during my masters in Geography at SOAS in 2000 to meet Tony for the first time where he explained how remote sensing can tell us so much about landscapes, geology, climate, vegetation cover etc. And he wistfully added that there are some things GIS cant show us, "like love, between two people".... From there I decided to take his course on water and politics, eventually doing research work for him and basing my dissertation on applying the virtual water concept to southern Africa. That was the start of my career in water, but also a long friendship with Tony. He was forthright, didn't suffer fools, raged against inequity but was consistently a gentle-man. I have kept this photo at my desk since it was taken at the World Water Week prize ceremony in 2009 - many happy memories. Thank you Tony.

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