STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Three students from Thailand have received the 2016 Stockholm Junior Water Prize for an retention device that mimics the water retention of the Bromeliad plant.
By examining the efficacy of natural water collection by plants – especially in terms of the shape of plants that collect and capture water – Sureeporn Triphetprapa, Thidarat Phianchat and Kanjana Komkla built a device that mimics the water retention of the Bromeliad plant.
The device has also been installed on rubber trees on rubber plantations.
The Jury said in its citation: “The theme of the 2016 World Water Week is Water for Sustainable Growth. The winning project addresses future water security and rural livelihoods using an elegant leap-frog technology which looks simple, but its beauty masks its complexity!
“The project embodies the theme well through its journey from the idea to application. It has already proven to be scalable and is now being tested in the field, by hundreds of farmers, who are now benefiting from the inspiration from beautiful plants which have an exceptional capacity to collect and store water.”
Asked how she would want to take the winning project further, Sureeporn Triphetprapa said: “I will use our idea to relieve poverty in our community.”
H.R.H. Prince Carl Philip of Sweden presented the prize at an award ceremony during World Water Week in Stockholm.
Torgny Holmgren, executive director of SIWI, said: “This shows that to make real progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, we need to start at the local level. This is a very good example of that; a simple, smart and scalable solution, making a big difference.”
The Stockholm Junior Water Prize competition brings together the world’s brightest young scientists to encourage their continued interest in water and the environment. Teams from 29 countries competed in the 2016 finals.
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