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The 25th IAHR Asia and Pacific Division Congress will take place from 19 to 22 July 2026 in Incheon, Republic of Korea, under the theme “Hydro-environments in the Era of Climate Change and AI”.

IAHR will convene the 25th Congress of the International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research – Asia and Pacific Division from 19 to 22 July 2026 at Songdo ConvensiA, Incheon, Republic of Korea.

Hosted by IAHR and organised by the Korea Water Resources Association (KWRA), IAHR-APD 2026 will bring together the hydro-environment community across Asia and the Pacific to exchange knowledge, present research, and discuss practical responses to the challenges facing water systems in a changing climate and rapidly evolving technological landscape.

The congress will be held under the theme "Hydro-environments in the Era of Climate Change and AI", reflecting two major forces shaping the future of hydro-environment engineering and research: the increasing impacts of climate change on water systems, and the growing role of artificial intelligence, digital tools, monitoring technologies and data-driven approaches.

 A Broad Technical Programme

The IAHR-APD 2026 programme includes keynote lectures, oral sessions, poster sessions, special sessions, master classes, institutional meetings, a technical field trip and an exhibition.

The technical themes cover a wide range of areas, including climate change adaptation and mitigation, water resources, the water-energy-food nexus, urban flooding, hydro-hazards, fluvial processes, river engineering, ecohydraulics, environmental hydraulics, coastal and estuarine systems, remote sensing, field monitoring, hydroinformatics and AI-driven modelling of hydrologic and hydraulic systems.

The APD2026 keynote programme will bring together five leading voices in water engineering:

Monday, 20 July:

• Pengzhi Lin, Distinguished Professor at Sichuan University, speaking on Modelling Mangrove from a Tree to a Forest: A Nature-based Solution for Coastal Defense.

• Il Won Seo, Emeritus Professor at Seoul National University, speaking on Modelling Two-Dimensional Pollutant Mixing in Rivers.
  

Tuesday, 21 July:

• So Kazama, Professor at Tohoku University, speaking on Climate Change Impacts and Evaluation of Adaptation to Flooding in Japan.
  

Wednesday, 22 July:

• Adrian Law Wing Keung, Professor at National University of Singapore, speaking on Spatial Field Monitoring of Surface Hydrodynamics and Sediment Transport for Coastal Protection. 

• Ellis Penning, Leading expert on Nature-based Solutions within Deltares, speaking on Towards Climate Resilient Landscapes: The Role of Interdisciplinary Knowledge for Successful Implementation of Nature-Based Solutions.
  

Keynote lectures will address topics including nature-based coastal defence, pollutant mixing in rivers, climate change impacts and flood adaptation, spatial field monitoring for coastal protection, and interdisciplinary knowledge for the implementation of nature-based solutions.

As a special cultural highlight, the Gala Dinner on July 21 will feature a live performance by Ali, one of Korea's most celebrated K-pop vocalists. We are delighted to offer our guests this unique opportunity to experience Korean music at its best, alongside the Congress's academic program.

 Climate Change, AI and Regional Resilience

Climate change is a central focus of IAHR-APD 2026. The congress programme reflects growing concern across the Asia-Pacific region about floods, droughts, extreme rainfall, coastal risks and other water-related hazards.

At the same time, the programme highlights the increasing importance of artificial intelligence, digital twins, smart monitoring, advanced hydrological survey technologies, hydroinformatics and data-driven modelling. These tools are becoming increasingly relevant for flood prediction, water quality monitoring, infrastructure management, climate resilience and decision-making across the hydro-environment field.

 Special Sessions and Focused Dialogue

IAHR-APD 2026 will include a series of special sessions addressing specific scientific, technical and regional priorities. These include groundwater systems under climate change, ecological river health, nature-based flood management, water culture and river ethics, catchment digital twins, water security under climate change, AI applications for water management, flood risk modelling, sponge cities and hydroinformatics by and for young professionals.

A High-Level Panel on “Pumped Storage Hydropower: Development Pathways and Challenges in the Asian Region” will address the role of pumped storage hydropower in the water-energy transition, with attention to development pathways, hydraulic and operational challenges, environmental considerations and regional research needs.

 Master Classes and Professional Exchange

The congress will also feature two master classes on advanced and emerging topics in the field. These include computational fluid dynamics, turbulence modelling, artificial intelligence and quantum computing; nature-based solutions for flooding and water management resilience; and advanced hydrological survey technologies.

• Sunday, 19 July (10:00-13:00) | Master Class 1. The Future of CFD: Turbulence Modeling, Artificial Intelligence, and Quantum Computing delivered by Dr. Joon Sang Lee (Professor at Yonsei University): This master class bridges turbulence fundamentals and Kolmogorov theory, classical turbulence modeling, AI-driven methods, and the emerging frontier of quantum computing.

• Sunday, 19 July (9:00-17:30) | Master Class 2. NbS for Flooding and Water Management Resilience delivered by Dr.Ellis Penning (leading expert on Nature-based Solutions within Deltares) and Dr.Un Ji (Research Fellow at Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology)
  

These activities will provide additional opportunities for technical learning and exchange among researchers, engineers, practitioners, students and early-career professionals.

 Exhibition: Innovations in Hydro-Environments

IAHR-APD 2026 will include an exhibition under the theme “Innovations in Hydro-Environments”, held jointly with the 2026 Smart Water Grid International Conference.

The exhibition will bring together companies, research organisations, universities and professional bodies working on smart water systems, water quality and flow monitoring, AI-driven solutions, unmanned platforms, watershed management, spatial information, infrastructure safety, carbon neutrality, river management and hydro-environmental research.

 IAHR-APD 2026 Young Professionals Events

• Meet the Leaders: YP–Senior Dialogue | Tuesday, 21 July 2026 (16:00-18:00): This session will be an interactive dialogue between Young Professionals and distinguished senior leaders. We are especially honoured that IAHR President Prof. Philippe Gourbesville and Keynote Speaker Prof. Il-Won Seo will join the session as invited senior guests.
  Rather than a formal lecture, this event will be conducted as a relaxed and open discussion, allowing participants to hear valuable insights on international research careers, academic and professional development, research direction, leadership, challenges, transitions, and future opportunities within IAHR and the broader water community.

• YP Networking Night | Tuesday, 21 July 2026 (After the Meet the Leaders session): The YP Networking Night will provide an informal opportunity for Young Professionals, students, early-career researchers, invited senior guests, and IAHR members to continue conversations over dinner and build stronger professional connections across countries and disciplines.

Participation in these events is free of charge for registered IAHR-APD 2026 participants. However, advance sign-up is required for planning purposes, including venue arrangement, seating capacity, and meal preparation.
If you are interested in participating, please complete the Google Form by 17:00 on Thursday, 16 July 2026. Detailed venue information will be shared preferentially with participants who complete the form by the deadline.

 IAHR Institutional Presence

In addition to the scientific and technical programme, IAHR-APD 2026 will serve as an important institutional moment for IAHR in the Asia-Pacific region.

The programme includes the IAHR Council Meeting, the IAHR-APD Executive Meeting and the IAHR Nature-based Solutions Working Group meeting. Through these exchanges, IAHR will continue to support regional collaboration, technical exchange and professional engagement across the hydro-environment community.

Through IAHR-APD 2026, IAHR reinforces its role as a global platform for research, engineering and knowledge exchange in support of more resilient, sustainable and better-informed water systems.

 Related

25th IAHR-APD Congress, July 19-22, 2026, Incheon, Korea
Asia and Pacific Division