WORLD ASSOCIATION FOR SEDIMENTATION AND EROSION RESEARCH (WASER)

2011 NEW YEAR GREETING MESSAGE

Dear WASER Members,

As the year 2010 draws to an end, we feel that we can look back on a successful and eventful year for WASER, and its Third Council would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continuing support for the Association and wish all members a happy and prosperous New Year for 2011.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

BONNE ANNéE

During the year in 2010, there have been several important developments and achievements for the Association, including:
(1) The Third Council Meeting was successfully held in Stellenbosch on September 5, 2010. The Third Council is composed of 12 elected members and 3 coopted members from 12 countries with Prof. G. Di Silvio as President, Prof. Zhaoyin Wang, Prof. G. Basson and Prof. Ulrich Zanke as Vice Presidents and Prof. Chunhong Hu as Secretary General.? Ten council members, including Prof. G. Di Silvio (Italy), Prof. Desmond E. Walling (UK), Prof.Zhaoyin Wang (China), Prof. G. Basson (South Africa), Prof. Ulrich Zanke (Germany), Prof. Chunhong Hu (China), Prof. Chih Ted Yang (USA), Prof. Hajime. Nakagawa (Japan), Prof. Jim Bogen (Norway), and Prof. J. M. Romkens (USA) attended the meeting. Apologies were received from Prof. Grant Douglas (Australia), Prof. Subhasish Dey (India), Prof. Geraldo Wilson Junior (Brazil), Prof. Guangqian Wang (China), Prof. Nikolay Alexeevsky (Russia) and Prof. Wojciech Froehlich Poland). Several staff from the WASER Secretariat and some observers were also present at the meeting. The retiring members of the Second Council were warmly thanked for their important contributions to the development of the Association and the advancement of the study of erosion and sedimentation.

Ten reports were presented at the meeting, including the President’s report by Prof. Des E. Walling, the Treasurer’s report by Prof. Xiaoying Liu, a report on the nomination of honorary members and a report on the revision of the statutes by Prof. Des Walling, a report on the International Qian Ning Prize for Erosion and Sedimentation Technology by Prof. Yanjing Zhang, a report on the papers in the “International Journal of Sediment Research” selected for awards by Prof. Zhaoyin Wang, an Introduction to the draft work plan from 2007 to 2010 presented by Prof. Chunhong Hu and an introduction to the venue, sponsors and central themes ?of the 12th ISRS by Prof. Hajime Nakagawa. Prof. Des E. Walling presided over the first part of the meeting and declared the result of the poll for the election of members of the WASER Council for 2010-2013, announced the list of Third Council Members of WASER and obtained Council approval for the nominations for Secretary General (Prof. Chunhong Hu), Treasurer (Prof. Xiaoying Liu) and Co-opted Council Members (Prof. Des Walling, Prof.Chih Ted Yang) .

The meeting approved the nomination of Prof. Sam S. Y. Wang (USA), Prof. Roman S. Chalov (Russia) and Prof. Dingzhong Dai (China) as honorary members. It also approved the award of the Third WASER Prize for the Best Papers published in the International Journal of Sediment Research. This was awarded to four papers, namely:

Thomas Lucker and Ulrich Zanke, An analytical solution for calculating the initiation of sediment motion, 22(2), pp.87-102;
Xuehua Duan, Zhaoyin Wang, Mengzhen Xu and Kang Zhang, Effect of streambed sediment on benthic ecology, 24(3), pp.325-338;
R. A. Kuhnle, D.G.Wren, and J. P. Chambers, Prediction of the grain size of suspended sediment: Implications for calculating suspended sediment concentrations using single frequency acoustic backscatter, 22(1), pp.1-15;
Hongwu Tang, Bing Ding, Yee-Meng Chiew, and Shilong Fang, Protection of bridge piers against scouring with tetrahedral frames, 24(4), pp.385-399.

Prof. Chih Ted Yang(USA) and Prof. Albert Rooseboom(South Africa) were confirmed as the recipients of the Qian Ning Prize.

Prof. Giampaolo Di Silvio, the new President presided over the second part of the meeting. The Council discussed and modified the draft work plan 2010-2013, and the secretariat was asked to finalize and implement the plan under the leadership of WASER Council. The venue, sponsors and central theme of the 12th ISRS were also discussed and several comments and suggestions were provided to the LOC. An appeal was made to all members of WASER to provide proposals for the venue of the 13th ISRS in 2016.

(2) The Third General Assembly of WASER was held in Stellenbosch on September 7, 2010. During the meeting, Immediate Past President, Prof. Des Walling, gave his President’s report on behalf of the Second Council and the Incoming President of WASER, Prof. G. Di Silvio, presented the draft workplan for the future three years 2010-2013 and appealed all scientists and engineers to join the Association and promote its activities. The awards of the Association were also distributed during the General Assembly.

(3) As the official Journal of both IRTCES and WASER, the quality of the International Journal of Sediment Research (IJSR) has been further improved. The number and range of contributors have increased significantly over the past two years.

?(4) WASER is continuing to grow and now has over 350 members. A further 12 new members from 11 countries, including the USA, UK, Japan, India, France, Spain, Israel, Australia, Pakistan, Germany and China joined? the Association in 2010.

(5) WASER and IRTCES jointly sponsored the 11th International Symposium on River Sedimentation held in Stellenbosch, South Africa from September 5 to 9, 2010. Scientists and engineers in the field of erosion and sedimentation from over 30 countries attended this important and very successful event.

(6) Following the recommendations of the Council, a number of Working Groups composed of by past and present Council’s Officers were established. These will operate in close cooperation as an Executive Committee and to address a number of operational issues. WASER members are encouraged to present their observations and proposals to the Association’s Officers, via the contact person Prof. Xiaoying Liu

(7)During and after the Stellenbosch Symposium, WASER and IRTCES Officers have established important contacts with representatives of UNESCO (ISI) and other international Agencies and scientific Associations in order to co-ordinate and mutually foster their respective roles in the field of water and ?sediments. In this context, it is important to note that the Secretariat of the World Association of Soil and Water Conservation was officially established in IRTCES in June, 2010.

Looking to the future in 2011, WASER will co-sponsor the International Conference on the Status and Future of the World’s Large Rivers, Vienna, Austria, 11-14 April 2011 and , the International Advanced Training Course on Soil and Water Conservation and Ecological Conservation to be organized by IRTCES in Beijing, China. WASER will also support and cooperate in meetings organized by sister Associations (e.g.IAHR, IAHS), as the 34th IAHR. Biennial Congress in Brisbane, Australia, the RECM 2011 at Tsinghua, 6-8 Sept.2011 and the 35th IAHR Congress at Chengdu, Sichuan, November 2013. WASER members are encouraged to participate in the above events.?

The Officers and members of the Third Council of WASER will do their best to promote the development of the Association during 2011, but your support for our Association will be very important in ensuring its success.

You are encouraged to visit the WASER web site (http://www.waser.cn)for new features such as News, Photos, Meeting Announcements and Information and much more. We also hope that members will send their news, photos, and announcements related to soil erosion and sedimentation to the Secretariat of WASER (E-mail to: liuxy@iwhr.com or waser_secretariat@yahoo.com.cn), so that they can be posted on the WASER website and shared with all our members.

In conclusion, the Officers and Third Council of WASER would like to take this opportunity to express their sincere thanks to IRTCES for its very important support in hosting and sustaining the Secretariat of our Association over the past year. Also on behalf of the Director of IRTCES, Prof. Shangfu Kuang and Vice-Director Prof Chunhong Hu, we send to all members of WASER our best wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year.

OFFICERS AND MEMBERS OF THE THIRD WASER COUNCIL:

President:
G. Di Silvio (Italy),
Vice Presidents:
Zhaoyin Wang (China), Gerrit Basson(South Africa), Ulrich Zanke (Germany)

Secretary General:
Chunhong Hu (IRTCES, China);
Treasurer:
Xiaoying Liu (IRTCES, China)

Council Members:
Grant Douglas (Australia), Geraldo Wilson Júnior (Brazil), Guangqian Wang (China), Subhasish Dey (India), H.E.Nakagawa (Japan), Jim Bogen (Norway),
Nikolay Alexeevsky (Russia), M. J. M. Romkens (USA)
Coopted Council Members: Des Walling (UK), Chih Ted Yang (USA)