King Hassan II Great World Water Prize Awarded to FAO

The prestigious King Hassan II Great World Water Prize has been awarded this year to the UN Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) for its contributions to the global efforts engaged for water security.

Moroccan Prime minister Aziz Akhannouch handed over the $500,000 prize to FAO Representative in Indonesia during the official opening ceremony of the 10th World Water Forum held Monday in Bali.

Akhannouch said in an address during the awarding ceremony that the prize pays tribute to the memory of late King Hassan II and to his strategic vision for a better sustainable water resources management which helped the country to enhance its water security thanks to the construction of dams and irrigation networks.

This prize also pays tribute to King Mohammed VI for the $14 billion program launched to ensure the country’s water sustainability, said the PM, noting that the ambitious program has enabled the Kingdom to build more dams, transfer water from one region to another and construct desalination plants in major Moroccan cities such as Casablanca, Agadir and Tangiers.

For his part, the FAO Director-General said in a message read out on his behalf he is honored to receive this prize which recognizes and rewards actions that promote the protection and preservation of water resources, improvement in their management, and reuse of wastewater, as well as raising awareness among the population about water issues.

Jointly established by Morocco and the World Water Council, the Hassan II Prize is awarded every three years, either to one person, an institution or an organization recognized by the Jury members as having a major contribution to “securing water resources for food sovereignty and shared prosperity.”

The contribution may be scientific, economic, technical, environmental, social, institutional, cultural or political.