1/ Address
CIGB-ICOLD
Central Office
151, Boulevard Haussmann - 75008 PARIS
Phone : (33-1) 40 42 68 24 - Fax : (33-1) 40 42 60 71
Telex : 641320 ICOLD F 2/ Brief history
The International Commission on Large Dams was founded in
1928 to promote progress in dam engineering by offering
the profession a forum for discussion specifically
devoted to their specialist interest.
3/
Status
ICOLD is a non governmental International organization,
governed by the French 1901 law on Associations.
The official languages of ICOLD are English and French,
most publications appearing in both.
Finance is raised from membership fees and sales of
Publications.
4/
Membership
ICOLD members are countries, represented by National
Committees. Individuals cannot be members, they join
through their respective National Committees.
ICOLD currently has 80 member countries, representing
about 5000 individuals, plus corporate members in the
form of engineering consultancies, laboratories,
contractors, etc.
5/ Organization
ICOLD Officers comprise a President, six Vice Presidents
and a Secretary General and Treasurer.
The President and Vice Presidents are elected for a
single three year term.
The Secretary General's post is renewable, the present
incumbent, the seventh in line, having taken up his
duties in January 1979.
The Central Office stationed in Paris is the
administrative and logistics centre. It 's run by the
Secretary General, answerable to the President.
6/
Objectives
The original objective of ICOLD
as formulated in 1928 was to encourage advances in the
design, construction, operation and maintenance of large
dams and their appurtenant works through the collection
and dissemination of information and stimulation of
research.
The organization is primarly concerned with dams over
15 m high, of which there are now more than 36 000 in
operation according to the ICOLD World Register.
Since the seventies and even before, however, more
emphasis has come to be put on certain aspects whose
importance has appeared with time. Thus dam safety
focuses on monitoring methods and systems, re-analysis of
old dams and spillways on the basis of modern criteria
and methods, and ageing effects. Environmental impact is
now also an important preoccupation.
More recently, new subjects of study have appeared :
cost savings accruing to better constructional
approaches, the harnessing of rivers forming
international boundaries, and information for the public
at large.
In addition to its engineering importance, ICOLD has
come to be a medium for international entente. Membership
is seen offering a place among equals in the
international community, and individuals, by talking and
working together on shared problems, develop a better
understanding and more tolerance of each other.
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7/ Main activities
The objectives of ICOLD are pursued through the
work of the ICOLD members and the printed matter
circulated through Central Office. Regular Congresses and
Symposia provide an ideal framework for exchanging
information and discussing practices and ideas ; Central
Office publishes the reports submitted and the detailed
Proceedings. A worldwide network of information
collection operates through the Technical Committees,
which periodically draft reports to be issued as ICOLD
Bulletins or engineering books.
Five-day Congresses at three year intervals discuss
four technical questions such as recent developments in
concrete and embankment dam construction, spillways,
flood forecasting, safety, foundations, deterioration,
environment, etc.
A one-day Symposium is arranged in non-Congress year.
In all there for, six technical questions are discussed
per three-year period.
ICOLD Technical Committees review technology in
specific areas, e.g. safety, design criteria, seismicity,
materials, environment, construction methods, performance
monitoring, siltation, hydraulics, design flood, tailing
dams, etc. The best international experts are actively
involved in this work A two-day Executive Meeting takes
place annually to discuss and decide administrative and
financial issues. It also nominates Technical Committees,
drafts their terms of reference, examines their progress
and approves their reports for publication.
The Executive Meeting, Technical Committee meetings and
Symposium all take place at the same venue for the
duration of one week; every third year, the meetings last
two weeks to include the Congress.Pre- and post meeting
Study Tours are arranged every year to operational dams
or construction sites, with discussions between the
visiting engineers and the engineering and construction
staff.In addition to these
international activities, each National Committee
arranges its own activity : meetings, tours and
publications, frequent joint events on a regional basis.
8/ Accomplistments
Seventeen Congresses have been held since the inaugural
one in London in 1931. The last was in Vienna in 1991,
the next will be in Durban (South Africa) in 1994.
Attendance has grown steadily from 900 to 1000 between
1961 and 1970 to double the figure as soon as 1973.
ICOLD Congresses represent the largest and most
important meetings of dam professionals and the
five-volume Reports and Proceedings (7000 pages)
published by Central Office are considered as
comprehensive, authoritative reference works by the whole
international dam engineering community. They are
purchased by companies and universities and it is
remarkable that they have an excellent sales record over
and above the copies distributed to those attending the
Congresses.
The Technical Committees, which now number 19, issue as
a whole two to ten reports yearly and 79 Bulletins are
now available, together with manuals, Registers and a
six-language Dictionary on Dams. Abstracts of ICOLD
Congress Papers are now available in computerized form.
The influence of ICOLD is perceptible in many areas. At
its promptings, much more attention is now given to
performance monitoring, some countries are increasing
spillway capacities, engineers are much more aware of
environmental issues ; there are many other examples.
ICOLD is now invaluable to progress
in the profession.
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