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
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