The “WASER/IAHR-APD/IRTCES Study Tour to the Three Gorges Project ” organized by WASER (World Association for Sediment and Erosion Research), IAHR-APD ( Asian and Pacific Division Committee of the International Association for Hydraulic Engineering and Research ) and IRTCES ( the International Research and Training Center on Erosion and Sedimentation ) is open today at the site of the partially completed Three Gorges Project (TGP) on the Yangtze River near Yichang of Hubei Province in China. Mr. Liu Xiaoyin from IRTCES presided over the opening ceremony. Professor Lee Joseph Hun-wei, Chairman of IAHR-APD, Professor Wang Zhaoyin, Secretary-general of WASER and Prof. Arata Ichikawa from Japan Fukuoka University gave their addresses, respectively at the ceremony. Professor Des Walling, President of WASER, Professor Kuang Shangfu, Director of IRTCES, Professor Lee Joseph Hun-wei , Chairman of IAHR-APD, and Professor Hu Chunhong, Secretary General of IRTCES sent congratulatory messages to the Study Tour.
The one-week study tour activity attracts about 30 young hydraulic engineers, scientists and doctoral students from China, Italy, India, Iran, USA and Japan. In the due course, they will share the achievements of Chinese hydraulic Engineers and Scientists, such as sedimentation and Erosion problems of TGP, impacts of large-scale hydro-projects on fluvial sediment transport and integrated river management; they will also visit the TGP dam site, TGP experimental model in Wuhan, Gezhouba Hydro-project which is 38km down-stream of the TGP dam site, Yichang Hydrological station and tour some scenic spots, like new Zigui county seat, Fengjie and Baidicheng (an old town with temples in memorial of Three Kingdom period) , Shennongjia Natural Reserve etc.
The one of the organizers of the Study Tour, WASER (World Association for Sediment and Erosion Research) was founded in October 2004, on the occasion of the ninth International Symposium on River Sedimentation (ISRS) held at the Three Gorges Dam site in China . It is an independent non-governmental, non-political, non-profit organization, at all times free of racial, gender or national prejudice. The objectives of WASER are to promote the study and development of the science of erosion and sedimentation interpreted in its widest sense; and to foster the application and dissemination of knowledge in the field of erosion and sedimentation. WASER will aim to further understanding and its application in the field of erosion and sedimentation, through international contacts among scientists, engineers, organizations, institutions, and governments. WASER was given strong support from Chinese government, UNESCO and other international bodies in the field during its preparation and after its foundation. Mr. Wang Shucheng, Minister of Water Resources, People's Republic of China , met council members of WASER, during the 9th International Symposium on River Sedimentation (ISRS) held in Yichang . UNESCO representative Dr. A.Szollosi Nagy also came to Yichang to send his congratulations on the Inauguration of WASER. Up to now, over 240 scholars from 40 nations have become the member of WASER; among them 210 scholars are the initiative members. IRTCES, China , serves as the Secretariat of WASER. The International Symposia on River Sedimentation, organized every three years by IRTCES, becomes the official Symposium of the Association. And the International Journal of Sediment Research, currently edited by IRTCES, becomes the official journal of WASER.
Ever since its founding, WASER attaches great importance to collaborate with other bodies active in this field and it's a very good beginning to collaborate with IAHR-APD and IRTCES to organize the Study Tour to TGP. As the first major training initiative for WASER, the Study tour must be a special one, because “it brings you to the venue of the very successful 9th ISRS, where WASER was inaugurated last year. More importantly, however, it provides you with an opportunity to gain first hand experience of this world-leading and multi-faceted engineering project and to benefit from the long and valuable experience of Chinese engineers and scientists, who are pre-eminent in the field of erosion and sedimentation”, just as professor Walling, Chairman of WASER written in his congratulation message.
We have all reasons to believe that this Study Tour must be a happy, unforgettable and worthwhile journey to the participants.
Lobby of the TGP Hotel Registration Desk
Meeting Hall
Openning Ceremony
Reading out Congratulatory Messages of Prof. Des Walling and Prof. Kuang Shangfu
Prof. Lee Joseph Hun-wei giving speech
