By Vidhi Thacker
Dr Himanshu Kulkarni, a Pune-based scientist, has become the first person from the Indian subcontinent to be awarded the biennial ‘International Water Prize’, which is sponsored by the WATER Center at the University of Oklahoma, Usa. It has been established since 2009 and is a dedication to the work on the field of sanitation and water supply in the emerging areas of the world. Kulkarni was handed the award on September 15th, but it was announced in 2024.
Kulkarni has played a significant role in shaping India’s water resource policies. He served as the co-chair of a Working Group during the formulation of the 12th Plan under the Niti Aayog, where he made important contributions to the drafting of the National Aquifer Mapping Program. He is one of the founding trustees and also functions as the secretary of the Advanced Center for Water Resources Development and Management in Pune, an organisation dedicated to research and advocacy on sustainable water management. Beyond his work with ACWADAM, Kulkarni holds an academic position as Professor of Practice in Rural Management at the Shiv Nadar Institute of Eminence, a Deemed-to-be University. He also teaches as a visiting professor at the Ashank Desai Centre for Policy Studies at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.
Kulkarni said the award reflects the many partnerships and collaborations that ACWADAM has built through its work on aquifer-based groundwater management and the idea of community partnerships. He added that managing and governing groundwater as a common pool resource is an important step towards addressing the crisis around groundwater resources in India.