The main topic of the interview is your attendance at the 90th General Assembly and 27th Congress of International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD). You have participated in the general assembly and congress as the "Chairman of the Executive Board of Iran’s National Committee of Large Dams". First, please talk about the committee, its duties, special works, actions taken and future horizons.
Iran’s National Committee of Large Dams was established as an active member of ICOLD in 1968 with the aim of promoting and disseminating dam building knowledge in the fields of design, construction, operation, repair and maintenance of large dams. The committee comprises the supreme council headed by the Minister of Energy, an executive board (7 people) and 23 specialized committees. Currently, this committee has 3632 individual (real) members and 78 institutional (legal) members. Among the other measures taken in this committee is the publication of 117 technical-specialized books in the field of large dams authored by members of the specialized committees. This committee has participated in the compilation of 56 scientific books, and has had an active and continuous presence in world congresses by presenting scientific articles. The set of activities carried out in this field has led to the presentation of 691 articles in various meetings and congresses. Also, two meetings of ICOLD were held in Iran in 1976 and 2006, which were well received by the participants. The positive trend arisen after the successful holding of these meetings, especially the 73rd meeting in 2005, has given special scientific credibility to Iran’s National Committee of Large Dams among the member countries. In addition, Iran will host this important event for the third time in Shiraz on May 2026. This matter has been approved by the majority of members in the 89th general assembly of the commission in 2021. Initial preparations have been made, including coordination with the hotel where the meeting will be held, and so far, the following measures have been taken:
- The approval of the Minister and Deputy Minister of Energy to host the meeting of ICOLD;
- Initial coordination with the local authorities of Fars province;
- Obtaining the approval of the general assembly of ICOLD to host the meeting and general assembly of 2026 in Shiraz;
- Presenting a video of the capacities and attractions of Iran and the city of Shiraz at the 89th COLD general assembly in October 2021;
- Preparation of a checklist of actions to be taken to implement the work;
- Preparation and distribution of the initial bulletin.
Could you please give us some tips about ICOLD, its history and the reason for its existence in general?
ICOLD is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) that was established in Paris in 1928 in order to promote knowledge and exchange experiences of experts around the world in the field of dam engineering. Currently, this commission consists of 104 member countries, and the Islamic Republic of Iran has had continuous and close cooperation with its active secretariat in the field of large dams since 1995. Currently, this international commission has 28 specialized technical committees whose members are elected representatives of countries. It is worth mentioning that the Islamic Republic of Iran has representative seats in 27 committees.
In order to promote the knowledge of dam construction, this commission has taken action to publish more than 170 bulletins through the creation of 28 specialized committees. The main goals of this global commission based on its approved statute are: Dams should be built with full compliance with safety issues; they should be economically justified and also without negative environmental effects.
This commission has also focused its activity on creating the background for development in design, construction and maintenance of large dams and their side structures by collecting relevant information, examining technical questions and publishing them.
In this regard, ICOLD holds a general assembly and a congress once every three years. The first annual meeting of ICOLD was held in 1929 in Paris, France and the first congress was held in 1933 in Stockholm, Sweden. The purpose of holding these meetings is to exchange opinions, review the latest achievements in the field of dam building industry in the member countries and other countries owning this industry and discuss challenges and how to face them. The last meeting of the commission under the title of the 90th General Assembly and the 27th Congress of International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) was held from May 27 to June 3, 2022 in the city of Marseille, France. An Iranian delegation headed by myself (as the Vice President of ICOLD and Chairman of the Executive Board of Iran’s National Committee of Large Dams of Iran) took part in this meeting.
The result of the work of ICOLD during a year is usually the contribution of about three to four valuable books, so that more than 170 books have been published so far, and these books are considered reliable scientific and technical references of dam construction for world experts. This commission has a board of directors composed of a president, a secretary general from France, and 5 vice presidents from five continents of the world. In the periods of 1998-2001 and 2018-2022, Iran holds a vice presidency of this international commission, as well as the chairman of the countries of Asia and the Pacific (affiliated to ICOLD).
What was the main reason for Iran's participation in the general assembly and congress? What will be the achievements of attending this event? And what is your assessment of the quality of the general assembly and congress?
As mentioned, Iran's National Committee of Large Dams has had an active presence in the events of the past years, and articles of the latest achievements and innovations of the country's dam construction industry were presented in the 90th General Assembly and 27th Congress of ICOLD held in Marseille, France on May 27 to June 3, 2022.
It is necessary that the representatives of specialized committees, managers and specialists of our country participate in this great scientific event, considering important topics such as dams with cement materials, examination and application of materials, advanced technologies and solutions in dam engineering, upgrading the monitoring and behavior measurement systems of dams to ensure safety and security, the impact of uncertainties and risk-based decision-making in dam design, construction and operation, balancing the technical, socio-economic and environmental aspects of dam engineering, advances in the analysis and design of flood protection reservoirs (flood delay basins), levees and dams, and tailings dams, recent developments and modern applications in reservoir and watershed management, design and operation considerations related to global climate changes, regional droughts and other extreme events, the evaluation of long-life dams (old age of dams) considering the remaining life of their operation, hydroelectromechanical equipment of dams and other matters related to the dam industry. Considering my responsibility as the Chairman of the Executive Board of Iran's National Committee of Large Dams, Vice President of ICOLD and Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Group (APG), as well as a member of the technical inspection committees for dams, dams with cement materials and the capacity building and dams, there was a need for an effective presence in the general assembly. Thanks to ICOLD’s history of about one hundred years, the quality of the meetings, especially the meetings of the specialized committees, symposium, general assembly and congress, is of very high level, and there is a certain order in the work implementation process in terms of timing and compliance with the established principles.
Achievements:
- Distribution of the initial bulletin of the 94th Executive Meeting of ICOLD in the general assembly in Shiraz city;
- Active participation in specialized committees;
- Acceptance of 10 scientific papers in the symposium;
- Presenting two articles in the 27th congress by me;
- Vice chairman of Question 106 of the congress;
- Winning the title of honorary vice president of ICOLD by me;
- Presenting the three-year performance report of the Asia-Pacific Group (APG) by me in the general assembly;
- Successful holding of the meeting of the Asia-Oceania Club with the presence of the members and under the chairmanship of Iran on Saturday, May 28, 2022, and a specialized workshop titled “Construction of Concrete Dams on Weak Foundations”;
- Presenting a speech about dams with cement materials by me in the meeting of the specialized committee on dams with cement materials;
- Participation of Iranian experts and representatives in the preparation of bulletins of ICOLD titled “Tailings Dam Safety”, “Committee L, Waste Dams”, “Cemented Material Dams: Design and Practice of Cemented Soil Dams”, “Committee P, Dam with Cement Materials”, “Levees around the World: Characteristics, Risks and Governance”, and “LE Committee, Dams and Short Dams”
- Planning for active participation in specialized committees considering the participation of 14 people from Iran;
- Obtaining the third rank of innovation award by Mahab Ghodss Consulting Engineering Company;
- Active presence of Iranian companies including Sadafazar and Farab in the specialized exhibition.