Agri Kultuur August / Augustus 2018 | Page 20

Irrigation systems recognised as World Heritage Irrigation Structures Felix Reinders Agricultural Research Council-Agricultural Engineering President of International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage T he International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) recognise World Historical Irrigation Structures (WHIS) with the objective to trace the history of, and understanding the evolution of irrigation in the civilizations across the world; to select and collect information on historical irrigation structures from around the world, understand their significant achievements and gather knowledge about the unique features that have sustained the project for such a long period; to learn the philosophy and wisdom on sustainable irrigation from these structures; and to protect/preserve these historical irrigation structures. A total of 14 World Historical Irrigation Structures was recognized this year and the President of ICID, Felix Reinders announced it on the 13 August 2018 in Saskatoon, Canada, at the 69 th International Executive Council Meeting of the ICID and handed certificates and plaques over the recipients (See Photo 1). The structures are from China, India, Italy and Sri Lanka. The type of the structures or facilities that are considered for recognition as World Heritage Irrigation Structures fulfil the following criteria: (a) The structure is more than 100 years old; (b) The structures fall under one of the following categories: • Dams (operational largely for irrigation purpose), • Water storage structures such as tanks for irrigation, • Barrages and other water diversion structures, • Canal Systems, • Old waterwheels, The recipients of the recognized World Historical Irrigation Structures with the President of ICID, Felix Reinders AgriKultuur |AgriCulture 20