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Tony Allan
January 29, 1937 - April 15, 2021
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2021-06-03 21:47:31 View / Comment (0)
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2021-05-13 15:07:15 View / Comment (0)
Kathy Baker
I had the privilege of meeting Tony 50 years ago, in 1971, when he accepted me as a research student on his first major project funded by the (then) SSRC, to work in Bulandshahr, UP, north India. Tony thus influenced the course of my life in a positive way and for that I am hugely grateful to him. Tony was an excellent supervisor: he could always see the bigger picture and had inspirational ideas. He gave me help when needed but also sufficient freedom to make, and sort out my own mistakes. What particularly impressed me about Tony was his kindness, generosity, and his concern for other people. He was a highly principled person and I respected him enormously for this. These paragraphs are a few of many memories from ‘Bulandshahr days’. The Bulandshahr project investigated the impacts of Green Revolution technology on farming and livelihoods in Bulandshahr District, and of particular interest to Tony was the impact on wheat yields of canal and tube well irrigation. The adventure began with Tony driving the project’s Landrover to India, packed with everything for the fieldwork, including jars and jars of marmite and peanut butter. Tony was a popular figure in Bulandshahr, his gentle manner and humility appealing to those with whom we worked and socialised. However, as the fieldwork got underway the local enumerators whom he had employed learnt that Tony was a stickler for punctuality and hard work, which came as something of a surprise. We left promptly for the field at 8am each day, six days a week, and everyone had to be present at the Landrover by two minutes to eight, by which time Tony was revving up the vehicle, prompting people to ‘hurry up’. There were no harsh words when anyone was late but the atmosphere was such that no one was late twice. The enumerators adapted with good humour and affectionately nicknamed Tony ‘two-to-eight’. Tony was not amused by this. Inevitably, getting the fieldwork done was of paramount importance and Tony could not bear to be held up for a minute on the way to a village, almost exploding with frustration when the road was blocked by a broken bullock cart, or by a level crossing with barrier down, something the enumerators found highly amusing. It was at such points that cultural differences between Tony and the Indian Team were most in evidence; the one tense, refusing to accept the inevitability of holdups; the others relaxed, accepting that delays were the norm. Tony cut a striking figure in Bulandshahr and its villages, unique on the north Indian plains. He stood head and shoulders taller than most people (not stooped, as we came to know him), and sported a very impressive, large, Afro hairstyle. People would simply stare and in the villages many admitted to never having seen such a person before, though they always liked his gentle demeanour. He was embarrassed by such attention. On the way home from the field treats were frequent, especially if the field work had gone well. We all enjoyed stopping for snacks or fruit and on one occasion Tony bought over a kilo of Indian sweets for everyone to share, only to find that these were rejected by the enumerators. This, it emerged, was a caste issue, so, personally unaffected by caste, Tony and I devoured the lot. But caste was to cause more problems for Tony: project villages were randomly selected and when fieldwork was conducted in low caste villages the enumerators were in and out in a jiffy, huddled in the Landrover, declining all hospitality, and leaving Tony and me to eat as much as we could from a generous spread provided by people who had very little. Try as he might he could not persuade the enumerators to spend more time on the fieldwork in those villages. It upset him that the quality of fieldwork might have been questionable and he was sorely troubled by attitudes towards the poorest. At times,Tony found India very difficult. Some five years after completing my PhD Tony encouraged me to apply for a post in the Geography Department at SOAS and I thus went from being student to colleague. He remained the same, ever helpful and supportive. My last memory of Tony is a happy one. It was in 2018 when we met by chance at the Russell Square entrance to SOAS. It struck me as we said goodbye that this was the same place we had said goodbye when he had set off for Bulandshahr in the Landrover almost 50 years earlier. I shall always be grateful to Tony for the opportunities he gave me, opportunities that have shaped my life. I’m just sorry Tony has left us. Kathy Baker
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2021-05-11 09:13:34 View / Comment (0)
Jennifer McCarthy
I will always be grateful for the time I had with Tony at KCL in 2004-05 as a Masters student. His humour, wit, patience, intellect, and love for real teaching struck me at the time, and his ideas and approach to scholarship and inquiry will stay with me forever. He was a kind soul who treated everyone equitably, allowed us students to feel our own worth, and helped us gain the confidence to challenge conventional thinking in our own areas of specialisation. May he rest in peace.
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2021-05-04 14:48:34 View / Comment (0)
angela morelli
When about 15 years ago I started diving into climate science and I understood the urgency of environmental issues and the importance of critical thinking, I decided that I would knock on the door of research organisations advocating for a new way of designing information. Most of the time nobody would answer my call, but very few times they would. Tony Allan is one of those scientists who answered my call. He used to say that Information is powerful only if it can be understood. And I carry his wisdom with me, every day, as an information designer, as a teacher, as a communicator, as an activist, as a parent, as a citizen who recognises that understanding precedes action and change. Prof Allan, you will be missed. My deep condolences to the family. Angela Morelli
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2021-04-29 18:57:24 View / Comment (0)Salem el-Maiar
I first had the pleasure of meeting Tony in the summer of 1989 after seeing him on the television as the only British experts covering Libya. I rang him & went see him @ his SOAS office. He was welcoming & very pleased to see me. The minute I introduced myself he knew which city & the background I came from as he knew members of my family both in academia & politics. All his talks were about his beloved Libya, the memories he had there & the better place that he would wish Libya to be in. Our relationship continued especially after I started working for Brown & Root who were the consultant to the Great Man-made River Project in Libya. Tony introduced me to the SOAS library, to the Society for Libyan Studies, to Chatham House & many more academic societies & institutions. He was a very generous & wouldn’t hesitate to contribute & pass his valuable knowledge freely & to everyone. I joined him at a later stage as a postgraduate student after advising me not to go to Oxford & remain in SOAS. Whilst there I had the opportunity to meet most of you & exchange our views in the various groups to tackle the water management & security issues in the MENA region. I was in contact with him on a weekly basis up the last week before he passed away. He was asking about the latest development in Libya & was hoping for a peaceful, progressive outcome from the recent chaos that Libya has been/still facing. I in turn asked him about the recent developments on the renaissance dam & his views were that an equitable deal needs to be struck & a peaceful outcome would be the result as oppose to war. Tony was a good listener, kind but challenging. He was hard working, full of ideas, very prolific, a mentor & extremely a good decision maker. I personally can never forget him as he was like a father figure to me & guided me on other issues of my life. Tony, you were my source of inspiration & motivation and I’m sure your great legacy will continue. Rest In Peace “Humble” soul.
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2021-04-29 03:39:38 View / Comment (0)
Marwa Daoudy
I met Tony during my first conference ever as doctoral student. It was held at Bir-Zeit University, Palestine. He engaged with my questions and encouraged me to speak up. I was amused by the fact that when he introduced virtual water during his talk, he ended by saying "and now, here comes a new wave of enemies." Tony later very kindly hosted me at SOAS as I was wrapping up my dissertation. I didn't have access to an office so he generously offered to share his small office with me .. during his own hours. We were working together side by side in a tiny space. He was the most considerate, generous, humble human being and a demanding, stimulating, curious scholar that kept expanding the boundaries of the field. He was both very patient with junior scholars and impatient during workshops and conferences when he considered a question or comment to be uninteresting or out of scope. He would then quite suddenly snap, keeping everyone on their toes! He also gathered a group of us within the London Water Research Group, bringing together all the PhD students, post-docs, aspiring water experts he knew for a fascinating conversation that unfolded over several years. He made sure to be there, without ever dominating he conversation. He listened and let us explore freely. I have the highest respect and deepest affection for Tony. He was a role model and a source of inspiration. I will dearly miss him.
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2021-04-27 20:23:10 View / Comment (0)
Wendy Barnaby
Wendy Barnaby I’ll never forget the first time I met Tony. As a journalist, I’d been writing about conveniently-alliterative water wars, and he took me to the SOAS staff room and explained his idea of virtual water. It made total sense and I was an immediate convert. I admired Tony’s clear-sightedness about the thesis itself and about the length of time it would take for it to become mainstream; and I admired too his courage in challenging conventional wisdom. He really broke the intellectual mould, but met scepticism with courtesy. He had a cheerful sense of humour and was unfailingly patient, incisive, forbearing and hard-working. He loved the life of the mind and his commitment was personal: he quietly changed his diet to lower its water consumption. I mourn him as a guru and a friend.
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2021-04-26 02:42:54 View / Comment (0)
Ghulam Farouq Azam
Not only I will always remember Tony Allan but also the world of water and geosciences will remember him. He left us but was a gift to us. He was humble, kind with critical wisdom. Tony was a calm man with an immense driving force. Beyond water, he was interested in politics to match water with real-life and achieve eco-peace. This was the point our minds met. As a peace activist, I was interested in how water as a strategic weapon can be used as a source of strength for regional cooperation. I needed Tony’s knowledge and experience and he was much interested to hear me about the politics in Afghanistan and the region. When I wrote a book on the Afghan-Iranian relations on the Helmand river waters, its title was chosen by Tony Allan, ‘Water for Oil and Access to a Seaport’. I was meeting Tony in SOAS Common Room and at least once a year he was coming to our house to have with us our Afghan dish. I considered him as my elder brother; my extended family respected him a lot. I wholeheartedly pray for his soul to rest in peace.
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2021-04-25 19:11:12 View / Comment (0)
Christopher Ward
I first had the privilege of meeting Tony when he came to Yemen around 1998. He gave a ;lecture at the university under the chairmanship of Professor Mohammad al Eryani, the doyen of Yemen’s water specialists. Tony had two PhD students working on Yemen at the time - Gerhard Lichtenthaler in Sa’ada and the north, and Chris Handley in Ta’iz. Tony was open and very helpful in talking about the enormous water challenges of Yemen. Then in 2000 I had the opportunity to work right alongside him at SOAS when I had a three month sabbatical there. Under his tutelage I began work on my own book on Yemen water which was only to see the light more than a decade later. But I saw how Tony was the epicentre of thinking about water, and at the zenith of his thinking on virtual water. It was an exciting and busy time for him, but he never stinted of his time or wise advice. He gave up time to come and give a lecture with me up in Newcastle, and he brimmed with ideas which he shared generously. Later, when I was headed to Libya I sought his advice again, this time at King’s, and he gave of it generously. When my Yemen book was finally launched he came up to St Antony’s and presided with great gentleness and wisdom. Just this last year I sought his guidance for a book on water in Palestine and Israel. He took the trouble to read it all through and to give some important insights and helpful tips. Tony was a great scholar and inspiration. I shall always bear in my heart his wise counsel and seek to emulate his helpful and kind demeanour. Christopher Ward wardcsward@aol.com
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2021-04-22 13:39:54 View / Comment (0)
Rodney Bridle
Rodney Bridle, Dam Engineer Meeting Tony Allan at the time of the World Commission on Dams in 2000, when our work as civil engineers providing infrastructure to look after folks within the resources of the planet was obstructed, was like encountering a shaft of sunlight. Here was an environmentalist who not only had similar objectives but had developed approaches based on social and environmental science to improve the planning and implementation of dam and other infrastructure to better sustain humanity and all life on the planet. Thank you, Tony, RIP.
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2021-04-22 13:25:22 View / Comment (0)
Maite Aldaya
I met Tony as a Master student in 2008 in one of the London Water Group meetings. After writing him an email, he accepted to be my Master thesis supervisor. I had read about him and the virtual water concept in the Financial Times newspaper the week before, so I was excited. The water guru was answering quickly to a simple student. I was in front of a beautiful person who treated everyone equally. He shared all his vast knowledge in an altruist way. Thanks Tony for being a model-- Maite M. Aldaya
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2021-04-22 13:18:17 View / Comment (0)
Turki AlRasheed
I have work with him during a conference on food security in Qatar in 2012. Subsequently met him in London. He was a great man. trying to solve the problem of scarcity of water. I have work with in Oxford, UK during one of out r conferences. Good man putting value on the water that would address the challenges of scarcity of water worldwide. I have almost admire him on his beliefs. One of the quotes that remain in my memory about Tony is: The more often you share what you've learned the stronger that information will become in your memory by Steve Brunkhorst
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2021-04-22 13:06:46 View / Comment (0)
Anton Earle
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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2021-04-22 09:26:18 View / Comment (0)
Robert Hope
In 2004, Tony generously agreed to be Oxford's first External Examiner for the MSc in Water Science, Policy and Management. I think the staff benefitted as much, if not more, than the students from his rare gifts as both an outstanding educator complemented by his world-class research. He was uncompromising in his desire for excellence in teaching the next generation the interdisciplinary nature of water. He remained a friend of the course and alumni for years, returning for an anniversary event a few years ago. He was extremely supportive to me and I learnt, like so many others, deeply from his experience and insights. He was kind and generous in spirit; the global water world has benefitted enormously from his contributions and he leaves a remarkable legacy.
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2021-04-21 22:46:29 View / Comment (0)
Jonathan Rigg
Tony taught me about desert landforms in the late 1970s when SOAS had a Geography Department, was then a caring postgraduate tutor, and finally a generous colleague. I remember being slightly perplexed at the title of his presentation in the training module for PhD students: "Identifying and maintaining an argument." Little did I realise that I needed to do these things more than anything else. He was usually slightly ahead of everyone else, but would never deign to point that out. He was a gentle, calming presence.
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2021-04-21 19:31:36 View / Comment (0)
Christopher Cramer
Oh what a lovely, kind man. When I was a young academic it was deeply helpful to have someone - not even in my own department - of such distinction treating me with such openness and generosity of spirit. And long after he left SOAS Tony always would get in touch, to remind me that this or that person was a distinguished SOAS alum and did the School know and were they doing enough to use that connection. Dear old Tony - a gent and a giant.
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2021-04-21 12:49:32 View / Comment (0)
James Firebrace
Tony and I first crossed tracks some 12 years ago when I was involved in looking into the future of the city of Taiz in Yemen, then judged to be the world’s most water stressed city, racked by conflicts over water use between the providers for the city and agricultural users in the hinterland. Tony quickly became an invaluable adviser, giving his time freely and with characteristic generosity, while bringing fresh insights and approaches to a complex and multi-layered challenge. He also introduced me to a range of his former students, now representing the cutting edge of water analysis – many appear on this obituary page. More recently, as Yemen’s war began with food blockades and attacks against farming assets, Tony became a solid supporter of the Yemen Safe Passage Group, offering advice and encouragement. He will be sorely missed.
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2021-04-21 12:16:13 View / Comment (0)Phil Riddell
It's difficult to know how best to remember Tony. Would it be the way he used his immense intellect to influence a highly inclusive discussion about the best way to use a fragile and finite resource on which all life depends? Or was it his insight into the failures of capitalism and what they mean in the context of food value chains? Or was it his humility, kindness and respect for others? For me it's the latter. After someone else introduced us, Tony was happy to suggest a meeting about 10 years ago. Since then, his influence on my career and its outputs has been immense. And this has been true right up to recent weeks, during which Tony was always happy to share his thinking with respect to my current work in Egypt. The photo is of Tony and myself servimg tea at the 2015 Caux Dialogue.
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2021-04-22 23:11:00 View / Comment (0)Yasir Mohieldeen
The World has lost an incredible human being. I was soo delighted to meet Tony in Doha, Qatar in 2013. To me meeting Tony was just meeting a family member. Tony is a father figure to me. Tony has changed my life. Since 1996 when I first met Tony at SOAS, every year around this time I receive a message from Tony in the first day of the month of Ramadan with good wishes for the fasting of the Holy month. This year it hasn't arrived and I was waiting for it, because it meant a lot to me. Instead, I received a phone call informing me that Tony passed away on the second day of Ramadan.
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2021-04-20 18:15:11 View / Comment (0)
Gerhard Lichtenthaeler
Humility, kindness and generosity: what a beautiful description of Tony, what a powerful legacy. Tony always had the door to his office at SOAS wide open. And whenever we talked or corresponded since, he asked personally about my wife Debra and our two sons, Noah and Adam. Tony’s influence on my professional as well as my personal outlook continues on, and I will always be grateful for having had him as a mentor and friend.
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2021-04-20 18:05:57 View / Comment (0)
Christine Oughton
I was aware of Tony’s reputation as one of the world’s leading authorities on water security and conservation before I met him. He was the creator of the concept of virtual water and a Stockholm Water Prize Laureate. However, I came to know Tony well when I was organising the Edith Penrose Centenary Conference and I was keen to speak to colleagues that knew and worked with Edith Penrose during her tenure at SOAS. Tony was extremely generous with his time and I quickly came to realise that while his area of research was water security he had extensive knowledge of supply chain management, trade, political economy and the Middle East. He supported the idea of the Edith Penrose Centenary Conference and the subsequent establishment of the annual Penrose Lectures in her honour with enthusiasm and great affection, attending the conference, book launch, all of the lectures and the Edith Penrose Special Event held in October last year. Not only that, but after each event he wrote a letter of thanks saying how valuable he found the event. On one occasion he sent photos that he had taken with his phone, adding, “The session deserved a better camera.” Of course, the photos were fine. But that was his way, as well as being a world class scholar, he was also the most unassuming and humble man I have ever known. I will miss him dearly - it was always a pleasure to meet him in the SOAS common room and chat on matters of the environment and political economy. SOAS and the world have lost an outstanding academic
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2021-04-20 16:11:52 View / Comment (0)
Undala Alam
My abiding memory of Tony is in his SOAS office, which seemed cavernous at the time, reaching over a mountain of paper piled up in front of his keyboard with his monitor on the wall. As someone who had led a chequered academic path to this point, I wasn't deeply versed in all things water but was inching my way forward. Tony and I had several interesting and thoughtful discussions. It was fitting that Tony was awarded the Stockholm Water prize, his concept of virtual water was simple but brilliant. It has influenced how we understand and devise water policy. Many years later, meeting once again at a conference, Tony showed me his business card with its water footprint calculations. It typified Tony and I carried it with me for quite some time after to remind myself of the figures involved. My condolences to his family and friends, their loss is ours too.
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2021-04-20 13:31:15 View / Comment (0)
Amjad Aliewi
When we (Newcastle University and the Palestinian Water Authority) started a major water project about sustainable management of the Palestinian aquifers in the year 1999, we needed a water policy expert. This was the starting point of knowing Professor Tony Allan. I then met him several times in Palestine, Jordan and the UK. I visited him also in his office in the University in London. I learned a lot from him since we were in the beginning of trying to shape the future of the water sector in Palestine. By all means he was a great scientist and water policy expert. He is a leader in the water sector not to be forgotten. His achievements in research and in developing ideas to support the water sector in developing countries will remain remembered for many years to come. My condolences to his family and to everyone who loved him. Amjad Aliewi Leader of SUSMAQ project from 1999 to 2005
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2021-04-20 12:50:09 View / Comment (0)Deborah Potts
I worked in the same Geography Departments as Tony (SOAS and KCL) for nearly 40 years. The photo is of the department in 1982, with Tony sitting right at the front on the ground in the middle. He was a wonderful colleague and a man of great integrity. He was always supportive, even when one was working in fields outside of his research expertise (in my case urban and migration studies). As an example, after his 2019 'retirement' reception at KCL (he never retired really of course) he sent me an email reminding me to keep him informed about a book I was writing and after it was published he wrote again (in February this year). He was very thoughtful, as ever, in his comments, and drew parallels between our work top saying, 'I find it interesting that we have both been drawn down the path of having to take into account the prevalence of poverty and its many impacts....I have ... been pointing out for some time that part of the food system, food production by farmers is a failed market in which farmers cannot enjoy a secure livelihood. I sense the housing 'market' is also a failed system'. He went on to make various trenchant comments about the failures of our political system, reflecting his longstanding engagement with leftwing politics and the Labour Party (which he evidently found frustrating). He is a great loss to water studies although his many former PhD students are well placed across the world to continue to take his work forward and, as evident from these remembrances, remember him for both his intellectual support and with great fondness. I will miss him.
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2021-04-20 10:40:35 View / Comment (0)
Jack Bathe
I knew Tony for only one year as a Masters student at King's, but he left a great impression on me. I admired greatly the way he viewed the world and how he was so dedicated to sharing his knowledge and experiences with us all. I'm very grateful to have met Tony and to have had a few important conversations with him. Thank you for all that you did, and congratulations on all that you achieved, Tony. Condolences to your family and friends, and good luck with whatever unknowable step comes after our time here!
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2021-04-19 23:01:15 View / Comment (0)Ahmed Tayia
My PhD with Tony was the most enjoyable and challenging journey in my life. Without his scholarly inspiration, precious guidance, unconditional support and exceptional consideration, the completion of this thesis would not have been possible. This photo was taken after my PhD VIVA in April 2019.
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2021-04-19 22:49:54 View / Comment (0)
Ahmed Tayia
10 years ago, I read his book on virtual water and since then meeting Professor Tony Allan became a dream for me. I did not know at that time that I will be lucky enough to meet Tony 5 years later and he will be kind enough to volunteer to save my PhD and turn it around to the extent that I become the first of my bath to finish his PhD thesis in less than three and half years. Without his unlimited and unconditional support, I would not have completed my PhD. For the last five years, I had the pleasure of working with Tony on a regular basis. After the completion of my PhD, we used to meet virtually each Sunday to discuss future publications, till the last week of his life!! It has been always a privilege to build on his ideas which have enriched my study and added value to my research. But to me, Tony was much more than an outstanding scientist. I will always remember him as a warm and caring friend for me and my family. In addition to our vibrant academic discussions, He was keen in every Sunday call to check on me and my family give me his advice when I needed. Working with Professor Allan was a great honour, and in some senses, it has been the most demanding and enjoyable experience in my life, Knowing Tony personally was the greatest blessing that I have ever had.
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2021-04-19 17:14:33 View / Comment (0)
John Waterbury
I can't remember how long I have known Tony. It surely goes back to the 1970s when I was studying the Nile. I know we met occasionally at conferences, and I was struck by the simplicity and power of his identification of virtual water. It opened so many doors to understanding what we now call thew WEF nexus, but it took Tony to show us what had been hiding in plain sight. `it was not until 2015 when my wife and I moved to London, that I got to know Tony as a colleague, mentor, and intellectual catalyst. I hung out with him at SOAS and in Elie Elhadj's flat. I helped, peripherally, in the supervision of one of his PhD advisees. I saw close up the quality of his collegiality, mentorship, and itellectual electricity. His students are legion, and they all likely had an unparalleled experience. When I learned of Tony's passing away, I riffled through my recent emails. On April 6 I had sent him a newspaper article on yet another round of negotiations on Ethiopia's GERD. Within minutes of receiving it, I received Tony's succinct summary "nothing new". Be polite and keep it brief. Thanks, Tony. John
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2021-04-19 16:02:17 View / Comment (0)
Ashok Chapagain
Thank you all for sharing your grief and collective emotions. It has been a privilege to be part of Tony's virtual water family, in real. We shared successes and pains at times together. Let's remember him and carry his light illuminating our water world. I came to meet Tony for the first time in 2002 when I was writing my PhD proposal on virtual water. I vividly remember when he said that research is not a simple career, here success is not measured with how many articles you write, you need that to get grants etc, but by how many you influence, how much you leave your impacts, and how meaningful your footprints are! Since then he became a part of me, professionally and personally. The last time I could see him was last year in London before the lockdown. He left a void never to fill! A respect I cannot measure, I gratitude I cannot express more. You left the deepest footprints in my life, and millions of your followers. May your soul rest in peace, Tony.
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2021-04-19 11:42:59 View / Comment (0)
Colin Green
We only get one go at life, and, if wise, spend that life trying to learn how to live it well. The best die knowing that they did it well. Tony did as a researcher, a person and a teacher. As a researcher, when many researchers are no more than percentage players, he was, in Sir Isiah Berlin’s terms, a Fox: relentlessly curious, always searching, always challenging. His international reputation reflected his contribution; his comparative neglect in the UK, reflecting badly on UK academia. A person he bore his renown properly, emphasising the importance of his insights without falling into either of the twin fallacies that this made him important as a person or his importance as a person made his ideas important. He was simply a very nice person. From talking to some of his students, he came across as inspirational, giving them something to carry through life. He must have had flaws as we all have but I never discovered them. I am lucky to have known him.
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2021-04-19 11:07:34 View / Comment (0)
Eckart Woertz
What I admired most about Tony was his tireless curiosity and humbleness. He was truly interested in the projects of others, be they internationally renowned scholars or undergrad students. In a line of business that has its fair share of self-centered vanity, that was no small feat! He also looked beyond the boundaries of his discipline and beyond the ivory tower. He was quite a political scholar who always had an eye for the real life implications of his research. As I am not a water expert, but rather a student of the history and politics of the Middle East, I have learnt a lot from him and I am really grateful for our past discussions and collaborations.
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2021-04-19 10:45:52 View / Comment (0)
Declan Conway
I first met Tony in May 1990 at a remote sensing workshop on the Sudd (also the first time I met John Sutcliffe, another water giant) and then later that year at the fascinating multi-disciplinary conference he organised with Paul Howells on the Nile (one of many strands in Tony's vast area of work). This was just as I was starting my PhD and he was incredibly supportive, enthusiastic and willing to share his knowledge, something many others have clearly experienced. Since then our paths crossed every so often, particularly in relation to the Nile and his probing questions about what climate change might mean for water in the basin. It was a great pleasure to join meetings in London and meet such a range of watery people – you never knew who you might meet, but you knew you would have interesting and challenging conversations. Highly interdisciplinary well ahead of his time, Tony had a strong and open hold on the need to understand water in all its complex settings. Many fond memories, what a loss to the world of water, but his legacy lives on in his ideas and the many students he taught and supported.
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2021-04-19 09:57:52 View / Comment (0)
I have much to thank Tony for. He was responsible for leading an area of academic work that challenged 'engineering' wisdom of water management and put farmers at the centre. I was proud to have had the opportunity to engage with Tony in a number of different fora in UK and overseas. He was also great company, always keen to challenge, in a slightly mischievous way, and share a pint!
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2021-04-19 09:55:52 View / Comment (0)
Nathanial Matthews
I was first introduced to Tony via Mark Zeitoun. I met him at the SOAS senior common room in the summer of 2009. Tony was so humble and engaging especially to me, a relative stranger who was just visiting the UK for a few weeks. You would have never known that he had won the World Water Prize the year before. His challenging, but supportive questions in my research interests resulted in me handing in my notice at my job and applying to do a PhD under his supervision at KCL immediately. It was only after I met him did I begin to understand what a figure he was in the water world. Over the last decade he became a mentor and a good friend. He was a fantastic supervisor. He taught me much about critical thinking, writing and teaching. He was supportive and equally challenging me to do better, to do more. His humbleness and kindness were exceptional. He would always ask caring questions about my family. He would apologise profusely if ever a few minutes late. He was exceptionally generous with his time to everyone who showed interest in the interdisciplinary nature of water. He hated being fussed over, but always appreciated help when given. I went to many conferences and events with him and was in awe at his piercing questions that would cut down the crap said by other speakers. His lack of patience for positive change was endearing and motivating. He was fearless. He was an inspiring educator. I was in awe of his ability to dive down to a community’s water problems in a specific locale almost anywhere in the world and then jump out to stratospheric issues of virtual water and global trade. It often seemed as if his knowledge knew no boundaries. He was always keen for a pint or two and some crisps and enjoyed meeting new people in completely different fields. I will miss him, but I know from speaking with him recently that his mind was as sharp as ever and I think he would have wanted us to remember him that way. His influence on me personally and professionally is one that I carry with pride. I continue to try to emulate his nature and drive in my work and life. Thank you Tony! RIP.
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2021-04-19 09:52:55 View / Comment (0)
Rabi Mohtar
The world of water & geosciences just lost a giant who was the first to introduce virtual water & water in supply chains. An advocate of science & role of farmers in saving the world. It was a privilege to know him as a scholar, friend & aspiring human being. RIP dear Tony. From Rabi H. Mohtar, American University of Beirut and Texas A&M.
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2021-04-19 09:50:09 View / Comment (0)Brian Chatterton
I will always remember Tony's kindness and and sense of fun. The photo was taken in the ruins of Leptus Magna in Libya. Tony is examining the regeneration of medic. While he is best remembered for his ideas (on virtual water and the food chain in particular) he was also very connected to the real world of farming and a great supporter of regenerative farming. His best known efforts were directed at a more sustainable use of our natural resources but he also had a strong sense of social responsibility and was Labour Party stalwart who did the hard work, pounded the streets and knocked on doors. Brian Chatterton
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2021-04-18 23:05:36 View / Comment (0)
Bart Schoonbaert
-- 'You were also a student of Tony's?' With these words - spoken at many an event, conference and seminar - eyes would light up, and instant and deep bonds would be created. The world over. Bonds that will forever remain. -- Friday afternoons in Tony's office. During our MSc at King's, Friday afternoons were spent in Tony's office. Through one building, into another, up the stairs, down the stairs, left, left, right, second door. A few of us huddled around cake and hot drinks (and a glass of wine that day after we had finally managed to coax his birthday out of him), discussing whatever it was we wanted to talk about (and he steadfastly refused to pick the topic). Here was this giant of a man, a world leader in his field, sought after for advice from all corners of the globe, just giving us hours and hours of his time, week after week, and thoroughly enjoying every occasion. -- No small talk. Tony didn't do small talk, ever. That does not mean he only talked about work, or professional or academic matters. Far, far from it. Any time we met, he would ask about me, about my wife, about our daughter. Really ask. And he'd remember exactly what I told him the time before, long after I had forgotten. He wasn't just asking for the sake of it; it wasn't small talk. He wanted to know, he was interested, he cared. Only after that, and once he had indulged a question or two about him (maybe, just maybe), would we dive off into those conversations that so many on here have talked about. The ones were you walked away having grown as a person, enriched, your mind firing off in a million different directions. -- That short, convening, kickstarter of an email. If ever an art perfected, it may be the one of Tony dropping a few lines in an email, kicking a thought or question in someone's direction, with several others in cc, and then just let it rip from there. Before you know it, pages and pages were filled, and ideas were progressed at lightning speed. -- That disgruntled look when nobody would let him pay for dinner or drinks. Tony, seriously, you have no idea how much we just wanted to pay for you!!! -- That 2CV. What a classic. Tony, I am incredibly sad that you are gone, and will miss you greatly. Someone once said that wisdom is knowledge applied with compassion. I think you personified that. Your legacy lives on in all of us, and I too will do my best to be who and what you wanted us to be. Thank you for everything, rest in peace.
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2021-04-18 22:27:23 View / Comment (1)
Geraldine Dalton Williams
Hearing the sad news this week, so many memories come flooding back. So many of them in the context of this immense community of water researchers and students which he nourished with his immense knowledge and intellect; and trained in the behaviours of listening, respect and curiosity. The immense network Tony established was due to his selfless generosity, any contact introduced by Tony would welcome me and always be happy to share their time and knowledge as he had done for them. I will remember cups of tea in the common room at SOAS, reunion meals when a former student came to London, and spotting Tony in his 2CV. I will miss you Tony, rest peacefully you have achieved so much in your lifetime. Geraldine
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2021-04-18 20:54:01 View / Comment (0)
Elie Elhadj
After a thirty-year career in banking in New York, London, and Riyadh, I became a student again in order to seek answers to questions on the cultures, politics, economies, and reform prospects of Arab countries. I was fortunate to join SOAS in 1998, a uniquely eminent centre for scholarship, with a community of brilliant researchers, where it was possible to access focused regional expertise. I vividly recall my first meeting with Professor Tony Allan. It was in the Staff Common Room. Four hours later, we were still discussing how water-poor but ideologically different political economies in the Middle East contribute to unsustainable water policies and waste of scarce resources. The meeting convinced me that I was in the presence of a gifted thinker and a giant intellectual. The discussion became the subject of my "recreational Ph.D." as Tony used to joke about my status among his students. I shall forever remember the many hours of discussion we had over the next two decades. Tony's clarity of vision, intellectual integrity, dedication, sincerity, and loyalty have been inspirational. Tony was the epitome of the gentleman/scholar and I considered him my best friend. I shall miss him for the rest of my life. May he rest in peace. Elie Elhadj
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2021-04-18 15:58:21 View / Comment (0)Martin Keulertz
It has been the honour of my life to work with Tony since 2009. During his final years, he became very interested in the food system. Until his early 80s, he conducted research meeting farmers, the food industry and accountants. He concluded just a few weeks ago by phone ‘that water is a sub-sector of the global food system’. Tony viewed the power structures within the food sector as key determinants of global water use and misuse. His tireless efforts to remain a keen learner of new information characterised him until his very last moments. It was highly impressive how he taught himself the basics of accounting rules above the age of 80. For his final topic of interest, ‘investment’, he felt he was running out of time, yet he still devoted long hours of email discussions on ‘sustainable investment in food and water systems’. This short account of his final interests shows that Tony has lived his intellectual life in abundance. He taught the world a distinct message on transdisciplinarity. With Tony, we have lost a humble and courageous intellectual genius and giant. May his soul rest in peace!
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2021-04-18 13:44:14 View / Comment (0)Joshka Wessels
Tony stayed for the day at my viva in Amsterdam on 22 May 2008. I have very fond memories about the diner and party in a Lebanese restaurant, which included a belly dancer...."Confusing" he smilingly uttered, when she came a tad bit close to him !
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2021-04-18 13:40:15 View / Comment (0)Joshka Wessels
The University of Amsterdam was honoured to host Tony at my viva, he had just won the Stockholm Water Prize in 2008.
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2021-04-18 13:38:38 View / Comment (0)Naho Mirumachi
In summer 2008, celebrating his Stockholm Water Prize.
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2021-04-18 14:38:05 View / Comment (1)
Joshka Wessels
I first approached Tony with a request to act as co-supervisor for my dissertation work, since my main supervisor Prof Ton Dietz at the University of Amsterdam, was well knowledgeable about drought and water scarcity but not in the geographical area of the Middle East. So I sat in the corridor in front of his room, waiting to be let in, as there were others having tutorials with him. When I entered, I gazed at the piles of books and papers and felt I had entered the amygdala of SOAS water. He immediately engaged in a debate, following my initial email, that challenged my assumptions and he agreed to supervise. He thought the topic, water cooperation, and the country, Syria was intriguing; 'there are many doing research on water conflict but not many doing empirical research on cooperation at community level'. During my PhD, it was Tony who always kept me on my feet, theoretically sharp and engaged. I remember every time I had finished a chapter, I would send it to him and after a few weeks, take the long train journey from Shrewsbury to London in anticipation to the no doubt highly challenging conversation I would have, new insights I would learn. He would always have meticulously read the chapter and pointed out exactly its strengths and weaknesses. He helped me through the low points, when I really wanted to quit the entire undertaking, continue with my more pragmatic, applied and practical career of environmental filmmaker and just write a narrative book, without the pains of thinking through a theoretical framework. His enthusiasm and endless curiosity was inspiring though. He was the epitome of the most knowledgeable professor of geography and scholar of water politics in the Middle East and I learned so much from him. In the years that followed, we met on many different occasions, in London, in Palestine and throughout my career, I always remembered that he was the one who eventually made me realise that academia can be rewarding. After my viva, I had decided that my PhD dissertation in 2008 was the last thing I would ever do in academia, returning back to my other career as filmmaker. But then, an opportunity arose. He wrote an incredibly detailed and supportive letter of recommendation to support my application for my first postdoc position in Sweden, three years after my PhD. I was drawn back into the academic world and I still am enjoying this thoroughly! I do think without his unwavered enthusiasm and humbling recommendation letter, I might not have returned....He has inspired countless batches of water scholars and brought them together. At the SOAS water group, he was our anchor. He will be missed by many. A great loss to the academic world, but his ideas and legacy will continue for generations to come. His wisdom, unparalleled. May he rest in peace.
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2021-04-18 13:25:21 View / Comment (0)Naho Mirumachi
Tony reminding us about the important message on food-water--at a departmental seminar at King's College London 2017
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2021-04-18 13:20:07 View / Comment (0)Naho Mirumachi
Tony was an engaged and committed educator. He taught well after retirement and this is him giving a guest talk to students just last December, in 2020. It had to be an online talk due to the circumstances, but he was eloquent, sharp and unwavering even across the screen.
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2021-04-18 13:15:45 View / Comment (0)
Naho Mirumachi
Tony has taught me so many valuable lessons, from the first time I met him as a young Master’s student. I distinctly remember our first encounter at a small meeting in Tokyo. I was nervous and excited about being able to have a few minutes with him and told him about my PhD idea. He listened intently. That was my first lesson--to listen and to be humble. Since then, he became my PhD supervisor, mentor, friend and colleague. He gave me advice whenever I needed and constantly nudged me to look deeper and more critically. He never stopped in his quest to question what really matters and to challenge ideas. Tony has been a profoundly influential figure in my life and he has shaped me into who I am today, personally and professionally. I will take forward the lessons on having integrity, compassion and tenacity. Thank you Tony.
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2021-04-18 11:43:18 View / Comment (0)Xuemei Liu
Tony shined my time in King's Geography and in UK since August 2019. He generously lifted my academic and social life to a level I had never imagined despite I had little to contribute. He greeted me humbly with smile and warm welcome when we met for the first time in a department office. He was so efficient in organising academic resources that he began to send me articles 4 days later, and I started envying his academic cooperation and friendship with other professionals in 20 days. When there were related events in King’s, SOAS and by Zoom, he would kindly inform me. When there were a long holiday, quarantine and a quarrel, he offered visits and calls. And he kept working diligently before and during the pandemic. I am very fortunate to know how many excellent qualities could gather in one human being and how bravely one can live in values and foresights from his deeds. With words unsaid and things undone, I am very very sorry that I can not see him off at this time, but I believe he is the fixed star over my head that will never pass away in my life.
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2021-04-17 23:27:43 View / Comment (0)Alan Nicol
One of so many batches. On SOAS steps, 2001, with Gerhard and Ghulam, and Tony.
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2021-04-17 23:03:44 View / Comment (0)
Alan Nicol
Tony (ta1) opened the doors of SOAS to me in 1988 during an exciting Summer working in the Middle East Centre. I was enormously privileged to have chanced upon such a warm, generous and intellectually challenging man so early in my student/working life. With Mary, he brought me into his inner world and helped set up my future career path. I would go on to complete a PhD under his supervision. I still find myself quoting his words during meetings on Middle East water, his insights perhaps resonating more and more. We’ve lost someone who was passionate and committed politically in so many ways, and beyond water. But most important, someone whose living legacy is a body of thought that is immensely powerful and enduring. He was a unique and rare person in ‘water academia’ and singularly did more than anyone else I can think of to really understand the challenges and opportunities of Nile Basin cooperation. His powerful presence will be missed immensely. RIP Tony.
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2021-04-17 09:12:24 View / Comment (0)
Bruce Lankford
Tony was the epitome of a Water Professor in our fast changing world. He always had everyone around him thinking creatively and deeply about water matters that otherwise many took for granted. Moreover he achieved this with a delightful undercurrent in the enjoyment of intellectual thinking. I will miss him. What a loss but also what a gift to the world of water.
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2021-04-16 20:02:06 View / Comment (0)Nathanial Matthews
A typical Tony night out - deep conversation and lots of laughs fuelled by beer and crisps! This one is from Aug 2019 at SOAS.
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2021-04-16 19:28:16 View / Comment (0)
Jeremy Allouche
I first met Tony while doing my PhD. He took his time to explain why I was so wrong to engage with environmental security while we were sharing a chocolate cake at the SOAS senior common room. He also shared a few notes and said what do u think? Basically was Mark’s phd first conceptual note. Simply a lovely man. His critical wisdom will be deeply missed.
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2021-04-16 19:06:35 View / Comment (0)
Noel Brehony
Tony and I (and our late fiend Keith McLachlan) were in the same year studying Geography at Durham University. I remember him for his brilliant intellect – he seemed to be on different and higher level than the rest of us - beneath a modest and unassuming exterior and as someone who always took the time to help and support others. To my surprise he did not take up an academic career immediately but spent two years in the Royal Engineers mapping South Arabia. Keith McLachlan persuaded him to apply for a fellowship at SOAS working on Libya and the rest is history. Tony taught many of us to see water almost as a currency and even today I still find myself trying to assess the virtual water content of everyday objects. Tony retained his modesty and integrity and desire to help throughout his life despite his achievements and his eminence. He had an extraordinary knack of remembering where we had to break off a conversation so that we resume it he next time we met – which could be several days, weeks or months later. A great scholar and teacher and friend.
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2021-04-16 18:40:14 View / Comment (0)Abigail Glencross
I knew Tony though academia and also his love and want to find out more about farming systems on the ground. He invited me to round tables where although I often felt out of my depth, he was kind and wanted diverse voices to be heard. He got involved in projects we were running, dinners we put on, and always had an inquisitive questioning mind and adventurous soul. He will be sorely missed not only for his work, but for the lovely man he was.
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2021-04-16 18:17:21 View / Comment (0)
Charles Gurdon
Tony first taught me when I arrived at SOAS in 1976 and was later my boss and colleague with Menas. I hadn't fully appreciated Tony’s role in my career until after my father died in 2011 when I discovered a copy of a letter to Tony amongst his papers: Dad had written to ask for Tony’s advice because his son was being particularly difficult and headstrong at the time, no change there! A year later I was asked to join Menas, and the rest is history: I have working for the company for over 40 years and have been its MD since 1988. Tony was highly respected in his own field but also always had time to provide positive friendly encouragement to everyone. Even though I only saw him at occasional events after we left London, he was always had time to catch up whenever we met.
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2021-04-16 17:55:33 View / Comment (0)
Greg Shapland
I remember Tony as a kindly teacher when I was a student at SOAS in the early 1970s. After that, he remained an inspiring mentor who was always generous with his time and insights. He was someone who relentlessly sought answers to the many questions about water, food, economics and politics that intrigued him. And, having found answers, he wanted to share them - he wanted everyone to understand. if anyone ever deserved to be called a "thought leader", it was Tony. He will be greatly missed by so many of us. Greg Shapland
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2021-04-16 16:53:29 View / Comment (0)
Gidon Bromberg
Tony was both a mentor and a dear friend. I first met him in the mid-1990s when EcoPeace was just getting started. His humility shined through in our first meeting - "How can I help?" By early 2000 he reviewed every significant paper we produced. He was eager to comment. He wanted EcoPeace to succeed. His key concern was that publications not just be produced but be communicated with conviction so that the message can influence decision-makers and make a difference. He would listen, think and then comment. He was mostly silent but when he spoke you had better listen. He would give direction, recommend further reading and then a week later call again to further discuss. He was a founding member of the International Advisory Board of EcoPeace. For many years he hosted our annual meetings in London, assigning one of his students to help prepare. Even in these last years, he made every effort to attend every meeting and every call. The Middle East water community owes him a great deal for his research and wisdom. He will be sorely missed and always well remembered.
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2021-04-16 15:00:18 View / Comment (0)Mark Zeitoun
Tony and friends at the SIWI World Water Prize, 2008.
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2021-04-16 14:57:47 View / Comment (0)Mark Zeitoun
Tony with the 'Virtual Water Prize' that Dave Phillips organised, in case the selection panel didn't choose him for the real prize. The virtual prize was made not of crystal, but of ice, and melted.
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2021-04-16 14:56:46 View / Comment (0)Mark Zeitoun
Tony Allan with Tony Turton and Piet Heyns, crammed into Tony's green and white Citroyen. After HH1
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2021-04-16 14:01:04 View / Comment (1)
Mark Zeitoun
Kindness, courage, and curiosity. There are dozens of adjectives that fit Tony. Modest, brilliant, sharp, demanding, encouraging, critical, tireless, inspirational. But these three are the best for me. I saw the curiosity from the moment I approached him at his office in SOAS in 2002 to challenge him on a lot of what he’d written in his 2001 Middle East Water Question. I’d just arrived in London from implementing water projects throughout the West Bank and Gaza, and was sure I knew the situation better than he. Though I was ready for a fight, what I got was someone who pulled the chair for me and probed me with questions to find out more – genuinely interested in what I had to say. Then he asked if I had considered x or thought about y, and had even heard of z. ‘”No, I hadn’t.” I left the meeting bruised, humbled, a head spinning with ideas – and inspired to think and learn much, much more. From that moment through his supervision of my PhD and through countless research projects, consultancies, and conferences, I never saw that desire for knowledge fade away. Through all of this, I also saw his total lack of fear. He would apply the same rules wherever his curiosity would take him: ask the tough questions, don’t suffer fools, be ready to learn, change the world. He angered many in doing so, not least of all water resource managers and scientists who preferred to ignore politics, or the fact that water evapotranspirates back to the clouds. He never compromised his ideas, never bid for trending topics. And he never hesitated, leaving busted myths, slain giants and mediocre people in his wake. He will be disappointed if we tread more cautiously or spend too much time in the mainstream. If his academic legacy is to live, it will be up to us to live up to the standards he set. I think it’s his kindness, though, that I will remember him for the most. Despite all his hard work and engagement, he always asked about my family, showed dignity, sent cards, reached-out, defended those less able – with all the patience in the world, and a gentle smile. To be half as thoughtful is the other legacy it is up to us now to uphold. Rest in peace, Tony. You certainly deserve to.
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Winnie Leenes
Winnie Leenes
There are people who strongly inspire others and are the giants in their field. Tony Allan was one of them. He was the very first to come up with the idea of virtual water based on his experience in the Middle East. Later the concept was further expanded by Arjen Hoekstra who developed the water footprint. I met Tony on several occasions where we talked about the importance of water. Very recently I had the opportunity to work with him and Markus Berger on a paper on water footprinting and LCA that was published March 15th this year in the journal WATER. The lively discussions we had on the topic inspired me very much and I am very grateful he supported us to write this paper. Within two years the water community has lost two giants, Arjen Hoekstra and Tony Allan. Hopefully, the water research community can continue their important work.
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