Two canals in Uzbekistan win World Heritage Irrigation Structure Award 2025

Two historic irrigation canals in Uzbekistan - Dustlik and Eski Tuyatortar - have been  awarded  the World Heritage Irrigation Structure (WHIS) ​​Award 2025 by the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID). The recognition was announced during the 4th World Irrigation Forum and the 76th ICID Executive Committee meeting, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from September 7 to 10.

The forum brought together water ministers, international experts, and representatives of leading financial institutions. The Uzbek delegation, led by Deputy Minister of Water Resources Z. Ishpulatov, highlighted the country's reforms in water resource management. Delegates noted that Uzbekistan's new Water Code and its 2025–2028 irrigation development program could pave the way for further achievements in sustainable water use.

 

On the sidelines of the event, Ishpulatov met with ICID Secretary-General Rakesh Kumar Gupta to discuss strengthening cooperation and involving Uzbek specialists in international working groups. Bilateral talks were also held with the World Bank on financing water-saving technologies, upgrading pumping stations, and adapting to climate change.

The Dustlik Canal, which has supplied water to the Syrdarya River basin for over a century, is a key transboundary structure serving both Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The Eski Tuyatortar Canal, located in the Zarafshan River basin, is notable for its scale and engineering design, representing the hydraulic ingenuity of its era.

 

With this recognition, the two canals become the first irrigation structures from Central Asia to be added to ICID's Register of World Heritage Irrigation Structures, which now includes 177 sites worldwide.

 

At the award ceremony on September 10, ICID leaders emphasized the global value of Uzbekistan's irrigation heritage. They noted that preserving these historic structures, while modernizing them with advanced technologies, is essential for ensuring sustainable water management in the region.

 

The WHIS Award honors irrigation systems that are more than a century old, still functioning, or  hold  exceptional historical significance. So far, 177 structures worldwide have been included in the register. The program's goal is to preserve and study historic irrigation works as part of global water heritage, showing both the evolution of irrigation technology and its role in shaping human civilization.

 

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