SUSTAINABLE IRRIGATION 2008

Sustainable Irrigation 2008 is the second conference in the new series, following the success of the first meeting organised in 2006 in Bologna.

As the standard of living or a large section of the world population continues to increase, the strategic importance of fresh water resources also rises.  It is essential to seek ways of achieving the most efficient and equitable use of these resources at the same time as making their use sustainable.

Even in those countries where fresh water is currently easily available, over-exploitation is leading to damaging long lasting environmental effects, such as lowering of water tables or depletion of river flows.  Adding to these effects, the problem of contamination effectively reduces the availability of sufficiently clean water.

Water is essential for irrigation purposes, but its indiscriminate use can lead not only to shortages, but also to the deterioration of crop yields and soils.  It is hence vital to ensure that it is applied as effectively as possible in order to reach sustainability.

This Conference seeks to address the different aspects of irrigation, including not only the management of water resources and scientific and technical aspects, but also matters related to policy and economics.

The Conference aims to attract researchers in academia and industry as well as professional practitioners and policy makers to review the state of the art from the scientific, technological, political and economic points of view.  Its objective is also to discuss how to reach the sustainable management of irrigation resources in the future by applying modern computer simulation methods, advanced technologies and new technologies as well as analysing different policies and economic forecasting techniques.