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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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Winnie Leenes 2021-06-03 21:47:31 wrote:

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.

Winnie Leenes 2021-06-03 21:47:31 wrote: 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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