Riyadh, November 16, SPA -- Vice-Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud graced here yesterday the handing-over ceremony of Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Award for Water in its 3rd session for 2006/2008.

The ceremony was attended by Netherlands' Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange and Chairman of the Advisory Commission of United Nations Secretary General for Water and Sanitation Affairs.

Upon arrival at the venue, Prince Sultan was received by Prince Khalid bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation for Military Affairs and Chairman of the Award Council; Minister of Water and Electricity Eng. Abdullah bin Abdulrahman Al-Hussein and a number of officials.

In an address on the occasion, Prince Khalid bin Sultan said "many years had past since the announcement of the Prize. Of these, six years have witnessed political conflicts, economic and financial crises in addition to natural disasters which had not spared any country. Then, we have been alerted by the hazards of water scarcity, pollution, desertification and drought".

"Moreover, the problems have been exacerbated and the risks have been increased.

There has been excessive water consumption, waste, pollution, depletion in addition to nations turning into below the water scarcity line as well as emergence of man-made severe drought".

He noted that the experts in the four-day conference of The 3rd International Conference on Water Resources and Arid Environments (2008) and the 1st Arab Water Forum which was held concurrently with the Awards Ceremony of the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Award for Water (3rd Award 2006-2008) will address the current water crisis through integrated water management, water and culture, water awareness campaigns and water consumption behaviors.

Speaking on the occasion, the Netherlands' Crown Prince highlighted the efforts of Saudi Arabia in the service of issues pertaining to water.

He underlined the importance of the studies and researches presented by the winners of the prize, and said they would play a positive role as regards solving water problems.

Praising Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Award for Water, he said it will positively contribute to enhancing ongoing efforts for solving water problems.

The winners of Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Award for Water (3rd Award 2006-2008) are as follows:
Dr. Chih Ted Yang -1st Branch - Surface Water:
Borland Professor of Water Resources and Director of the Hydroscience and Training Center, Department of Civil Engineering, Colorado State University.

Dr. Wolfgang Kinzelbach - winner 2nd Branch - Ground Water:
Professor of Hydromechanics, ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology).

Dr. Abdul Wahab Mohammad - co-winner 3rd Branch - Alternative (Non-traditional) Water Resources:
Deputy Dean and Professor (Membrane and Separations Technology), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia., and Saline Water Conversion Corporation - co-winner 3rd Branch - Alternative (Non-traditional) Water Resources.

Dr. Zainuddin Abd Manan - co-winner 4th Branch - Water Resources Management & Protection:
Professor of Chemical Engineering and the founder of Process Systems Engineering Centre (PROSPECT), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia., and Decision Center for a Desert City - co-winner 4th Branch - Water Resources Management & Protection: Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona.

The Award Selection Committee withheld the Creativity Prize and said it will not be awarded during this round.

Later, the Vice-Custodian the two Holy Mosques Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz graced a dinner party held on this occasion.

It was attended by Prince Fahd bin Mohammed bin Abdulaziz, a number of other princes and senior officials.

© Saudi Press Agency 2008