The 62nd International Executive Council (IEC) meeting of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), 21st International Congress on Irrigation and Drainage, and 8th International Micro Irrigation Congress (IMIC) were held at Tehran, Iran from 15-23 October 2011. The theme of the Congress was “Water Productivity Towards Food Security”. More than 1200 delegates from over 50 countries and several international organizations participated in various events. More than 200 papers were presented during Tehran events. Besides the Congress, meetings of 30 ICID Workbodies, Workshops and exhibitions were held. The Questions to the theme of the Congress were: Question 56 on “Water and Land Productivity Challenges” and Question 57 on “Water Management in Rainfed Agriculture”. The theme of the IMIC was “Innovation in Technology and Management of Micro Irrigation for Enhanced Crop and Water Productivity”.
The Central Office has published Congress proceedings (printed volume) with ‘Abstracts’ and a ‘CD-ROM’ containing all full length papers. The Congress was hosted and organized by Iranian National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (IRNCID) and supported by several Ministries and National Organizations (Private and Government) from Iran. Highlights of the Congress and IEC are enumerated below:
• New Chairs
Vice President Dr. Ragab Ragab (UK)- PCSO;
Vice President Hon. Dr. (Mrs.) Samia El-Guindy (Egypt) -WG-PQW;
Dr. Andrew Sanewe (South Africa) - AFRWG;
Dr. Sylvain-Roger Perret (France) - WG-ENV; and
Prof. Ruey-Chy Kao (Chinese Taipei)- WG-SDTA.
• New Vice Chairs
Vice President Dr. Willem F. Vlotman (Australia) - PCTA;
Dr. James E. Ayars (USA) - PFC;
Engr. Aliou BAMBA (Mali) - AFRWG;
Prof. Dr. N. Hatcho (Japan) - WG-ENV; and
Dr. K. Yamaoka (Japan) - TF-FIN.
• New Secretaries
Engr. Raphael L. Daluti (Tanzania) -AFRWG;
Mr. Olli-Matti Verta (Finland)- ERWG; and
Prof. Kazuaki Hiramatsu (Japan) - SDTA.
• ICID publications released:
(a)Towards Sustainable development of Tidal Areas: Some Principles and Experiences (WG-SDTA Handbook);
(b)Half a Century with IRNCID; and History of Water in ancient Iran.
• Working Group on Millennium Development Goals (WG-MDGs) has been established.
• Working Group on Intensification - Technology Research on Irrigation and Drainage (WG-TRID) has been created.
• A new Work Team on “ICID Engagement with the Rio+20 Process” has been created.
• Working Group on Comprehensive Approaches to Flood Management (WG-CAFM) proposed a new Task Force on “Value Engineering”.
• The tenure of the Working Group onTechnology and Research Uptake and Exchange (WG-TRUE) was extended by one-year.
• Egyptian National Committee of ICID (ENCID) to host 11th International Drainage Workshop (IDW) in Cairo, Egypt during 23-25 September 2012.
• The Turkish National Committee (TUCID) will organize the 8th Asian Regional Conference in 2013 at Mardin, Turkey.