Yichang, China: The inaugural ceremony of World Association for Sedimentation anf Erosion Research (WASER) was held Oct. 19, 2004, in Yichang, China.

Prof. Giampaolo Di Silvio, the vice-president of WASER, presided over the ceremony. Prof. Zhaoyin Wang, reported the preparation of the WASER, then Prof. Jizhang Gao, director of International Resaerch and Training Center on Erosion Research (IRTCES), announced the foundation of WASER. Prof. Des Walling, the President of WASER, Dr. Szollosi Nagy, deputy of UNESCO, Mr. Christopher George, the executive director of IAHR, Prof. Kuniyoshi Takeuchi, the president of IAHS, Mrs. Meng Zhiming, the vice director of the Department of International Cooperation, Science and Technology, Ministry of Water Resources, People's Republic of China, Prof. George Gergov, the deputy of Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS), made addresses and congratulations in this ceremony.

The Association is known as the World Association for Sedimentation and Erosion Research (WASER) . The official abbreviation will be WASER . It is an independent non-governmental, non-political, non-profit organization, at all times free of racial, gender or national prejudice.

The objectives of WASER are to promote the study and development of the science of erosion and sedimentation interpreted in its widest sense; and to foster the application and dissemination of knowledge in the field of erosion and sedimentation. WASER will aim to further understanding and its application in the field of erosion and sedimentation, through international contacts among scientists, engineers, organizations, institutions, and governments.

International Research and Training Center on Erosion and Sedimentation (IRTCES), China , serves as the Secretariat of WASER. The International Symposia on River Sedimentation, organized every three years by IRTCES, becomes the official Symposium of the Association. And the International Journal of Sediment Research, currently edited by IRTCES, becomes the official journal of WASER.

The foundation of WASER in China, shows the sedimentation research center role of China in the world, and it will further promote international co-operation in this field.