UNITED NATIONS, March 25 (IPS) – Professor Kaveh Madani of Iran has been named the 2026 Stockholm Water Prize laureate. The award can be formally introduced by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden in August throughout World Water Week in Stockholm.
The Stockholm Water Prize is broadly considered the best international honour in water science and coverage. Typically referred to as the Nobel Prize for water, it recognises people and establishments for distinctive contributions to the sustainable use and safety of water assets. This 12 months’s choice stands out for each scientific influence and the extraordinary private journey of the laureate.
At 44, Madani is the primary Muslim and the youngest recipient within the prize’s 35 12 months historical past. He’s additionally the primary United Nations official and the primary former politician to obtain the award.
Madani at the moment serves as Director of the United Nations College Institute for Water, Atmosphere and Well being. As soon as a senior official in Iran’s authorities, he later confronted arrest, interrogation, and a sustained smear marketing campaign that compelled him to depart his nation.
Born in Tehran in 1981, Madani grew up in a household deeply linked to Iran’s water sector. His early publicity to the nation’s mounting water challenges formed his educational path. He studied civil engineering on the College of Tabriz earlier than shifting to Sweden to pursue a grasp’s diploma in water assets at Lund College. He later earned a PhD from the College of California, Davis, adopted by postdoctoral analysis on the College of California, Riverside.
By his early 30s, Madani had established himself as a number one programs analyst. He joined Imperial Faculty, London, the place his work targeted on the mathematical modelling of complicated human water programs. His analysis mixed hydrology, economics, and choice sciences to enhance policymaking in water administration.
In 2017, he made a decisive transfer. Leaving a prestigious educational profession in London, he returned to Iran to function Deputy Vice President and Deputy Head of the Division of Atmosphere. Many considered his appointment as a sign of reform and a bridge between Iran and its scientific diaspora.
Throughout his tenure, Madani pushed for transparency and structural reforms in water governance. He used revolutionary public campaigns to boost consciousness about environmental degradation. Nevertheless, his efforts challenged entrenched pursuits.
State-aligned media accused him of espionage and labelled him a “water terrorist” and “bioterrorist”. Conspiracy theories circulated, linking him to international intelligence businesses and even to alleged climate manipulation schemes. His advocacy for worldwide environmental agreements additional intensified opposition.
In early 2018, a broader crackdown on environmental consultants started. Madani was detained and interrogated a number of occasions. A number of of his colleagues have been arrested. Certainly one of them, Kavous Seyed Emami, died in custody beneath contested circumstances.
Dealing with mounting strain, Madani left Iran and entered a interval of exile. He joined Yale College, the place he continued his analysis and advocacy. He started to focus extra on bridging science and coverage on the international stage.
Madani’s educational contributions have been broadly recognised. He’s recognized for integrating sport idea into water useful resource administration. His work challenged conventional fashions that assumed cooperation amongst stakeholders. He demonstrated that particular person incentives usually result in uncooperative behaviour, which makes many engineering options ineffective in follow.
This strategy supplied new instruments to grasp conflicts over shared water assets. It has been utilized to transboundary water disputes and to coverage design in areas with restricted belief amongst stakeholders.
Certainly one of his most influential contributions is “water chapter.” He launched the time period to explain a situation the place water programs can now not get well to their historic ranges. Not like a disaster, which suggests a brief disruption, water chapter indicators a long-term structural failure.
In a latest United Nations report, Madani argued that the world entered an period of worldwide water chapter in January 2026. The report highlighted that many river basins and aquifers have misplaced their capability to regenerate. This framing has sparked debate amongst policymakers and researchers.
Madani makes use of easy monetary language to elucidate complicated ecological realities. He argues that humanity is now not dwelling off renewable water flows however is depleting long-term reserves. This framing has made the idea broadly accessible and influential.
Past academia, Madani has constructed a robust public presence. With a big following on social media, he has used digital platforms to speak scientific findings in accessible methods. His work consists of documentaries and public campaigns aimed toward rising consciousness and accountability.
He has additionally performed key roles in worldwide diplomacy. As Iran’s lead environmental diplomat, he participated in international negotiations and served as Vice President of the UN Atmosphere Meeting Bureau in 2017. On the COP23 local weather convention in Bonn, he referred to as for larger consideration to water in international local weather agreements.
At present, as head of the United Nations water suppose tank, he continues to advocate for integrating water into local weather and improvement insurance policies. He has notably targeted on the World South, the place water stress intently hyperlinks with meals insecurity, migration, and battle.
The Stockholm Water Prize Committee cited his “distinctive mixture of groundbreaking analysis, coverage engagement, diplomacy, and international outreach, usually beneath private threat” in awarding him the 2026 prize.
In an unique interview with Inter Press Service, Madani recalled the extraordinary strain and worry that outlined his closing days in Iran. He described repeated interrogations, surveillance, and a rising sense that his work had positioned him in direct confrontation with highly effective establishments.
Listed here are edited excerpts from the interview:
IPS: You launched the concept of “water chapter.” How does this variation how governments should act in the present day?
Madani: Water chapter is outlined as a post-crisis state of failure wherein the system is affected by insolvency, that means that water use has been greater than the out there water for an prolonged interval, and likewise irreversibility, that means that there are some damages to the ecosystem and the equipment of water manufacturing which are irreversible and can’t be mounted.
What which means is that a number of the issues that was simply anomalies and irregular situations are actually the brand new regular, and we’re now not experiencing solely a brief deviation from what we’re used to, however we’ve got a scenario that we’ve got to get used to. Disaster administration is about mitigation.
Chapter administration is about mitigating what can nonetheless be mitigated and adapting to new realities with extra restrictions. Chapter administration requires an trustworthy confession, the admission of a confession {that a} mistake has been made, and the present enterprise mannequin will not be working, so it requires actually admitting to the errors made and remodeling the enterprise mannequin, that requires a recent new begin and a change in fact.
It’s bitter. Chapter will not be a nice situation however admitting to it helps us forestall additional irreversible damages and permits a future that’s much less catastrophic.
IPS: You confronted arrest, exile, and critical accusations in Iran. What stored you going throughout that interval?
Professor Madani: Hope. Hope is what stored me going as a result of I had gone again there to assist and at the very least at the beginning, I used to be attempting to take what was occurring to me as a part of the job and as a part of the journey as a result of I used to be there to make a constructive influence, and if I had given up too rapidly, then that will not have matched my important motivation to assist.
I knew that it might not be a really easy path, nevertheless it turned out to be far more bumpy than what I had anticipated, and I believe many additionally, you already know, those that made that scenario bumpy for me, additionally remorse that in the present day, however by the point they realised errors have been made, it was too late to do something about it.
Are you able to recall your arrest and interrogation? What do you keep in mind most from that have, and the way did it have an effect on you personally?
I believe arrests and interrogations are very irritating, particularly once you haven’t accomplished something mistaken.
What kills you is continually worrying about what others consider you and arising with totally different situations and conspiracy theories. Coping with conspiracy theories and proving them mistaken will not be simple. These have been very onerous occasions for me, however as you already know, my background is in behaviour evaluation. I used to be attempting to place myself within the footwear of those that have been suspicious of me, perceive their issues, and tackle them so I might assist my homeland.
IPS: Many international locations nonetheless deal with water stress as a brief disaster. What are the largest coverage errors they proceed to make?
Madani: Sure, disaster administration is all about mitigation. Those that deny the disaster and enter the chapter state proceed to borrow extra from nature, construct extra infrastructure, dig deeper wells, add extra reservoirs and storage capability, implement extra water switch initiatives and construct extra, and assemble extra desalination crops. Persevering with so as to add to their provide, then again, they suppose issues can be non permanent, and thru some form of rationing, issues can be solved, however the continuation of that behaviour and the denial of that actuality makes the issue worse.
They get drained right into a deepening drawback, and once more, just like the monetary world, if what you are promoting mannequin will not be working and also you’re in denial, you proceed taking extra loans and your bills and your debt change into larger and better. By the point that folks realise that there isn’t a manner out of that chaos and that failure, the fee is way, a lot larger. Remaining in denial would lead to main vital irreversible damages that generations must pay for.
IPS: You mixed science with diplomacy and public outreach. Which of those has had probably the most actual influence on decision-making?
Professor Madani: It’s very onerous to actually say which one has probably the most influence, as a result of they’re very complementary. The science is excellent, nevertheless it’s not sufficient for decision-making. You continue to have to grasp what the actual world appears like and the way incentives form behaviour and actions and the way pursuits promote conflicts and cooperation to have the ability to act.
Science, in fact, opens doorways and places extra options on the desk, however nonetheless, with out understanding the politics or navigating by way of politics, it might not work. Diplomacy is one other one in terms of the worldwide scale; even in terms of negotiating with stakeholders, that’s a ability that will be extraordinarily useful. So, in a manner, these are the issues that you just want.
And on prime of those, public outreach educates you about perceptions, how folks and societies perceive issues, how they choose totally different conditions, and the way their feelings and their perceptions form their beliefs, and that tells you what it is advisable to do in terms of speaking your science higher, altering their opinion, impacting their opinion, and even negotiating with them or convincing them that issues may be totally different or a special pathway is required. I believe all of them assist you create a recipe for one thing that may work.
IPS: Your work focuses on human behaviour in water administration. Why do technical options alone usually fail?
Madani: Numerous occasions, technical options developed by our pc fashions or in our labs don’t take note of the complete parts of actuality. When people are concerned, we take care of totally different motives, incentives, feelings, and psychologies, and that makes – that creates – some primarily sudden realities that may tweak issues. Merely put, numerous occasions in terms of creating an answer for a water drawback or an environmental resolution or a sustainability resolution, we predict that everybody agrees to creating short-term sacrifices for the sake of long-term resilience, however that isn’t the case in actuality as a result of totally different stakeholders, totally different teams, farmers, city customers, and industrial customers even have short-term targets.
They maximise revenue, ensure that the standard of life will not be impacted, and so forth, which makes them non-cooperative to an extent. And should you miss this actuality, then you definitely suppose that the answer, the optimum resolution, could be very sensible and everybody would cooperate, however then you definitely get very upset.
But, you’ll be able to take that under consideration to the extent potential, attempt to perceive the behavioural aspect and incorporate these into your evaluation and projections to have the ability to align these incentives and motives with the long-term curiosity to supply an answer that’s extra enticing and win-win.
IPS: You now advise governments globally. What’s the one pressing motion each water-stressed nation should take within the subsequent 5 years?
Madani: I believe that by now, international locations should perceive the significance of water as an important useful resource for establishing peace, nationwide safety, justice, prosperity, and improvement. I imply, it helps human improvement, well being, and long-term resilience in society. So, international locations should not take it with no consideration and perceive that technological options wouldn’t be ample to deal with shortages.
They need to revisit their practices. They need to do a correct accounting to grasp what, what’s, and the way water is at the moment being spent and if it’s strategic – strategically talking, that’s the proper manner of doing issues in terms of issues of nationwide safety and long-term resilience. Chapter administration begins with accounting and transparency.
That’s one thing that’s lacking in lots of water-stressed and non-water-stressed international locations, and I believe that’s one thing that we will deal with, put the lens of science on, and never be afraid of accounting and measuring and monitoring what is occurring within the system as a result of that data is required if you wish to make enhancements.
IPS: Thanks very a lot for taking the time and chatting with IPS and congratulations once more for the well-deserved award.
IPS UN Bureau Report
© Inter Press Service (20260325064444) — All Rights Reserved. Unique supply: Inter Press Service
