The Stockholm International Water Institute has announced South African scientist Dr Jacqueline King the winner of the Stockholm Water Prize, which many consider the “Nobel prize” for water.
King will be the first African scientist to receive the award and she joins previous winners Professor John Briscoe and the late Professor Kader Asmal in the global water hall of fame.
She will receive her award on August 28, at a royal award ceremony during World Water Week, in Stockholm.
King has been a researcher at the University of Cape Town and the University of the Western Cape for 40 years.
According to the Water Research Commission, King has provided a world-acclaimed toolbox for calculating the ecological reserve, strongly influencing water policy in South Africa during her career.
King was previously awarded a silver medal from the Southern African Society of Aquatic Scientists and a women-in-water award from the then Department of Water Affairs.
In 2010, she was appointed as an inaugural member of the National Water Advisory Council, which advises the Water and Sanitation Minister.