For the first time in its over thirty-year history it Stockholm Water Prizethe «Nobel for water», was awarded to an Italian, al Professor Andrea Rinaldo for his studies on river networks as a key to understanding nature and eliminating inequalities. «My research – explains Professor Rinaldo -, and that of the people who have worked with me in recent years, aim to make the distribution of water fair for everyone in the context of a general progressive reduction of social and economic inequalities and a correct ecological perception of processes controlled by water».
Rinaldo, 68 years old from Venice, is professor of hydraulic constructions at the University of Padua, director of the Laboratory of Ecohydrology of the École polytechnique fédérale of Lausanne and president of the Institute of Sciences, Letters and Arts of Venice. A former professional rugby player, he won three league titles with Petrarca, wore the national team shirt and is currently director of the Italian rugby federation and sits on the board of the European professional club rugby. The Stockholm Water Prize, awarded since 1991, has a selection process and award ceremony similar to that of the Nobel Prize. It is awarded by SIWI (Stockholm International Water Institute) in cooperation with the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The awards ceremony will be held in the Golden Hall of Stockholm’s City Hall on August 23, in the presence of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.
Professor Rinaldo’s research has been rewarded for its ability to outline an integrated eco-hydrological picture, which brings together laboratory studies, field work (especially in the southern regions of the planet, but also in Swiss Alpine rivers) and theoretical developments. Rinaldo made a fundamental contribution to the birth and definition of Ecohydrology as an autonomous science. “THE my studies on river networks – adds Professor Rinaldo – are focused on floods, droughts and a fair distribution of water. They look to the natural forms of river landscapes as ecological corridors for species, populations but also diseases. It’s a powerful key to understanding how nature works.”