Rivers’04 was organized by River Engineering and Urban Drainage Research Centre (REDAC), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) as the first conference in the series of triennial International Conference on Managing Rivers in the 21st Century. The purpose of it was to provide a major forum to researchers and engineers from national and international levels to present and exchange their views on the latest research issues and application methods to solve existing problems related to rivers in Malaysia and worldwide. Among major issues raised by paper presenters from various countries during the conference were the advancement of integrated river basin management via smart-partnerships among government, industry, NGOs and the public, the need for water quality assessments in urban areas, and the promotion of applying sustainable urban drainage systems. Sediment transport, river bank stabilization, and flood warning system were other topics well presented in the conference.

Rivers’07 will further highlight issues dealing with managing rivers such as flood management, water scarcity, water pollution, catchment management, and river conservation. The emphasis will be on sustainable management of rivers to preserve the natural environment of existing rivers in recognition of the future developments within the river basins.
 

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