TEHRAN – The first international congress on irrigation and drainage was held on Wednesday in the city of Urmia, West Azarbaijan province.

The event was hosted by Urmia University with the theme of sustainable and innovative agricultural water management compatible with climate change, focusing on the Urmia Lake basin.

Some 285 papers were submitted to the congress by researchers, 215 of which were accepted after evaluation, IRNA quoted Majid Montaseri, scientific secretary of the congress as saying on Wednesday.

Articles have been sent from various countries around the world, and professors from the Netherlands, the U.S., Turkey and Pakistan attended the congress, he added.

Five specialized meetings and nine workshops were held on the sidelines of the event, he further noted, adding that the top articles will be announced.

Deputy chancellor of Urmia University, Abdolnaser Nazariani, said that West Azarbaijan is the country's second rich-in-water province, but the specific conditions of the world and country requires water to be used cautiously.

“In the agricultural sector in particular, we need to highly prevent water loss by reforming irrigation practices,” he highlighted.

Exhibitions with the presence of manufacturing companies of irrigation and drainage product were held during the event.

The last three editions of the national congress were held at Ferdowsi Universities of Mashhad, Isfahan University of Technology and Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz in 2015, 2016 and 2017, respectively.

FB/MG