International Executive Council (IEC) Meeting is the highest decision-making body of ICID. It is vested with the management of the affairs of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage. All matters of policy that may be initiated or sponsored by any member National Committee or Office Bearer or by the Management Board comes under its purview. It may itself initiate and determine or otherwise advise and lay down any policies, decisions pertaining to the matters of strategic importance. Every year IEC Meeting is organized to discuss the executive, administrative and financial functions of ICID.

This year, the 72^nd IEC Meeting 2021 was organized physically and on hybrid mode / virtually due to travel restrictions caused worldwide.

Media Coverage of the 5th African Regional Conference & 72nd IEC Meeting, Marrakech, Morocco 2021

Glimpses of the 72nd IEC Meeting and 5th African Regional Conference organized by ANAFIDE and ICID, 23-30 November 2021, Marrakech, Morocco

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The Council elected Dr. Marco ARCIERI (Italy), Dr. Kamran Emami (Iran), and Mr. Ahmed EL BOUARI (Morocco) as Vice Presidents for the period 20121-24

Prof. Dr. Tsugihiro WATANABE (Japan)	Mr. Aziz FERTAHI (Morocco)	Mr. Ali Reza Salama (Iran)

The Best Paper Award for 2021

During the 72nd IEC Meeting, Marrakech Morocco, the Best Paper Award 2021 was presented to Yan-Ping Wang, Lin-Sen-Zhang, Yan Mu, Wei-Hong Liu, Fu-Xing Guo and Tian-Ran Chang from China for their paper entitled ‘Effect of a Root-Zone Injection Irrigation Method on Water Productivity and Apple Production in a Semi-Arid Region in Northwestern China’ published in Volume 69 Issue 1 (2020) – The Irrigation and Drainage Journal of ICID.

Within the Chinese Loess Plateau, water resources are scarce and irrigation efficiency is a challenging issue. Traditional surface drip irrigation (SDI) methods have failed to improve irrigation efficiency and reduce surface evaporation in the region. An easy-to-install and practicable root-zone injection irrigation (RII) method, with a low risk of emitter clogging and which uses subsurface infiltration-promoting apparatuses (SIPA) to deliver water directly to the root zone, was designed and tested in an apple orchard over 3 years in northern Shaanxi, China. In the 0–0.6 m soil layer (where the apple roots are concentrated), the RII method produced consistently higher soil water content than the SDI method over all three growing seasons. The soil water content was consistently higher than 60% of field capacity, thus meeting the water requirements of fruit-bearing apple trees. In addition, the RII method alleviated soil desiccation, significantly increased apple yields and improved fruit quality compared with the SDI method using the same volume of irrigation water. Both irrigation efficiency and water-use efficiency were improved with the RII method. These results provide a theoretical basis for the utilization of the RII irrigation method in apple orchards in semi-arid regions, which may improve water conservation and the sustainability of apple production.

For the full-length paper, please visit: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ird.2379

WATSAVE AWARDS 2021

Technology Award

Dr. Abdrabbo Abdel-Azim Abdrabbo Shehata (Morocco) for his work on “Hybrid Irrigation Method for Water Saving in Irrigated Agriculture”. This innovative method provides a hybrid between surface and pressurized irrigation methods to overcome the disadvantages of both the methods.

Innovative Water Management Award
Mr. EL Bouari Ahmed (Morocco) for hi s work on “First PPP Irrigation Project in the World (El GUERDANE Scheme) in South of Morocco”. This innovative management approach combines government and private sector efforts to improve the technical, economic, and 'financial conditions of the management of the irrigation water service.

Young Professional Award
Dr. Alison Mccarthy (Australia) for her work on Automated site-specific irrigation optimization using ‘VARIwise’. This innovation is software ‘VARIwise’ that combines sensing, modelling, optimization, and actuation to determine site-specific irrigation requirements to maximize yield and crop productivity for broad-acre crops..

Farmera Award

Mr. Gholamreza Ansari (Iran) for his work on “Increasing Wheat Water Productivity in Wheat Based System in Iran (Case Study: Darab City)”. Local adoption and implementation of conservation agriculture based on crop management are one of the most important aspects of this project.

During the recent 72nd IEC Meeting at Marrakech, Morocco, 16 World Heritage Irrigation Structures were recognized by ICID for the year 2021. 16 irrigation structures were included in the ICID Register of Heritage Irrigation Structures (WHIS) 2021

1. China
   1. Li Canal-Gaoyou Irrigation District
   2. Liao River Irrigation District, and
   3. Sakya Water Storage Irrigation System
    
2. India
   1. Kalingarayan Anicut and Kalingarayan Channel System
   2. Grand Anicut Canal (Kallanai Dam) 
   3. Dhukwan Weir, and 
   4. Veeranam Tank
    
3. Iraq
   1 Hindiya Barrage and 
   2 Waterwheels of Heet
    
4. Japan
   1 Teragaike Pond and Teragaike Waterway and 
   2. Usa Irrigation System
    
5. Morocco
   1. Khettaras
    
6. Republic of Korea
   1. Gangjin Lotus Small Reservoirs Irrigation System 
   2. Gudeuljang Irrigated Rice Terraces in Cheongsando
    
7. Sri-Lanka
   1. Ethimale (Reservoir) Tank Bund 
   2. Dam Old Sluices of Parakrama Samudraya