A one day workshop on “qanat engineering” took place at Ab-Niroo Company in Tehran on 12 May, 2010.

This workshop was held by the initiative and support of the Iran Tunnel Association, InternationalCenter on Qanats and Historic Hydraulic Structures(ICQHS), and National Water Treasure, and was welcomed by many participants from Iranian Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Agriculture, Cultural Heritage Organization, Consulting Engineers Companies, and AcademicCenters. Dr. Semsar Yazdi director of ICQHS & organizer of this workshop declared that this event take up the following topics:

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1- Initiatives in qanat, and the existing challenges

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2- Interactions between the methods of qanat and tunnel engineering

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3- Innovations in qanat construction and renovation

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4- Technologies related to historic hydraulic structures

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At the opening session, Ms. Junko Taniguchi the representative of UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office made a speech on the importance of qanat from technical and cultural point of view. She considered the efforts of the Islamic Republic of Iran to protect this technical and cultural heritage more than admirable, the efforts which pave the way for sustainable development. Then Mr. Almasvandi managing director of Iranian Water Resources Management Organization (WRMO) opened this workshop officially. At this workshop, some scholars from Iran Tunnel Association, InternationalCenter on Qanats and Historic Hydraulic Structures, and National Water Treasure gave scientific presentations on the results of their researches, and eventually the event ended with a conclusion on all the issues discussed during the workshop.

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