Established in 2012, the IAHR Hydro-Environment World Heritage Award is conferred on a local infrastructure of lasting and international importance. It has the purpose of giving international professional recognition to the work of local hydro-environment engineers, and should demonstrably have stood the test of time (be at least a hundred years old) and be accepted and valued nationally.

The Local Organising Committee (LOC) of each IAHR World Congress is invited to submit a proposal for the award to the Council meeting one year before the Congress for approval. If no proposal is submitted by the LOC, the Council may wish to consider submissions from other parts of the world. In approving a proposal for the award, the Council takes into account the lasting nature of the infrastructure, the value placed on the infrastructure by the local community, its international significance, and a clear interest of the proposed recipient for the award.

For further information, please refer to our FAQs section on our website. Additional enquiries should be directed to the IAHR Secretariat via email to awards@iahr.org

5th Edition | 2022
Conde del Guadalhorce Dam, Spain.

4th Edition | 2019
Panama Canal Authority, Panama.

3rd Edition | 2017
Terusan Wan Mat Saman (Wan Mat Saman Canal), Malaysia. Muda Agricultural Development Authority (MADA).

2nd Edition | 2015
Dutch Water Boards, Netherlands.

1st Edition | 2013
Dujiangyan Irrigation System, China. This is an irrigation infrastructure built in 256 BC during the Warring States period of China by the Kingdom of Qin. It is located in the Min River in Sichuan province, China, near the capital Chengdu. It is still in use today to irrigate over 5,300 square kilometers of land in the region.