Gerald Lacey was Professor of Civil Engineering (1915-17, 1928-32, 1945) and the last British Principal (1945-46) of the University of Roorkee near Delhi. He earned worldwide recognition for his `regime theory’ used for the design of major irrigation canals, made rich contributions to the field of Stable Channel Flow, and provided the technical guidance and insight that guided the successful development of irrigation systems in the Indian sub-continent. He was awarded the Kennedy gold medal in 1930 and the Telford gold medal in 1958. In the 1960s he was involved with the design of large regime canal systems in Iraq with consultants Sir M MacDonald & Partners, London (now Mott MacDonald).
In Summer each year, to commemorate Gerald Lacey’s contribution to irrigation development, the Irrigation and Water Forum holds a prestigious lecture at the Institution of Civil Engineers, Westminster, to provide a platform for an address by a world authority in the irrigation and drainage development sector.
All Gerald Lacey Lectures are free to attend, and are streamed live.
Details and, where available, recordings of our previous Gerald Lacey Lectures can be found below.
Just add water. A history of irrigation management in India since Gerald Lacey
Mr de Jong is the World Bank’s Lead Water Resources Specialist for Indonesia. Previously he has been the Bank’s Lead Water Resources Specialist for South Asia, among other positions with the United Nations, NGOs and private sector.
Date: 16th May 2022
This lecture explored the significant changes that irrigation in India has undergone since the days of Gerald Lacey. Most notably, protective irrigation, practiced in particular in North India, has been replaced by groundwater irrigation that now accounts for almost 2/3 of India’s irrigation water supply. The lecture will delve into the reasons for this spectacular change, with a focus on service delivery, political economy and governance of irrigation in India. The speaker will provide suggestions on how public irrigation agencies can reinvent themselves by strengthening accountability and sustainability, and by improving the quality of irrigation service delivery. The lecture will emphasize the importance of performance monitoring and performance-based O&M, while promoting a more judicious use of groundwater.
Watch again here.
Land and Water Management for Food Security: the broad picture
Date: 07th June 2021
Speaker: Dr Olcay Ünver, Professor of Practice at Environmental and Resource Management Program at Arizona State University, Industry Fellow at Australian Rivers Institute, and member of Water Policy Group. He served as Vice Chair of UN-Water from 2018 to 2020
Watch again here.
Flooding in England – Past, Present and Future
Date: 18th May 2020
Speaker: John Curtin, Executive Director of Flood and Coastal Risk Management at the Environment Agency
Read the full report here. At the request of the speaker, this event was not recorded.
Climate Change and Water Security in Africa
Date: 14th May 2019
Speaker: Professor Declan Conway, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment
Read the full report here, and watch again here.
Achieving SDG 6 – the ‘Water Goal’
Date: 21st May 2018
Speaker: Professor Stefan Uhlenbrook, Director of UNESCO Programme Office for Global Water Assessment and Coordinator of the Annual UN World Water Development Report
Read more and see the recording here
The Water Scarcity Crisis – Fact or Fiction
Date: 15th May 2017
Speaker: Professor Ian Barker, Managing Director of Water Policy International Ltd and Vice President Environment at the Institute of Water
Read more and see the recording here.
Irrigated Agriculture in the 21st Century – A Sustainable Career Choice
Date: 16th May 2016
Speaker: Ian Makin, Vice President, ICID and Lead Irrigation Specialist at the International Water Management Institute, Colombo
Read more and see the recording here.
Why Groundwater Matters
Date: 18th May 2015
Speaker: Dr. Frank van Steenbergen
Read more and see the recording here.
The Water Energy and Food Security Nexus – is it Really New?
Date: 12th May 2014
Speaker: Jeremy Bird of the International Water Management Institute
Read more and see the recording here.
Small is Bountiful (but Messy): informal irrigation and new directions for food security in sub-Saharan Africa
Date: 20th May 2013
Speaker: Professor Charlotte de Fraiture, Professor of Land and Water Development, UNESCO-IHE Delft
Past lectures
Recordings of the following lectures are not available.
Date |
Speaker |
Title |
| 01st May 2012 | Mr Rudolph Cleveringa Manager of the International Fund for Agriculture Development’s Innowat Programme | What a Difference a Drop Makes – Joint Learning Between IFAD and ICID to Address Rural Poverty Through Agricultural Water Management |
| 25th July 2011 | Professor David GreyVisiting Professor of Water Policy at the University of Oxford and also an Honorary Visiting Professor at the University of Exeter | Water Security – a Global Challenge |
| 21st May 2010 | Lord Cameron of DillingtonCo-Chair to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Agriculture and Food for Development | Global Food Security in 2030 – Why the World should support agricultural development in Africa |
| 15th May 2009 | Dr Sean LongfieldFlood Risk Science Manager Environment Agency | Global persective of natural disasters |
| 16th May 2008 | Professor Sir Gordon ConwayChief Scientific Adviser to the Department for International Development. | How do we feed the world? |
| 16th May 2007 | Jeremy BerkoffIndependent Consultant | Inter-basin water transfer: regional development, economic growth and climate change |
| 17th May 2006 | Charles AbernethyIndependent Consultant | Managing irrigation under comprehensive water resources management |
| 18th May 2005 | Jeremy BirdIndependent Consultant | Dammed, Damned or Doomed? |
| 19th May 2004 | Dr David KingDirector of Water Management, Environment Agency | The Water Environment in 2010 |
| 14th May 2003 | Keith PitmanWorld Bank | Water And Development At The World Bank – What Have We Learned Since 1990 |
| 15th May 2002 | Peter LeeMott Macdonald | Research & Technology in Irrigation & Drainage |
| 16th May 2001 | Prof Bart ShultzPresident ICID | The Role of Water In Food Production And Rural Development |
| 16th May 2000 | Alan HallHR Wallingford Ltd | The World Water Forum And Its Implications For ICID |
| 19th May 1999 | Dr Peter Leeds-HarrisonSilsoe College, Cranfield University | Irrigation And Drainage: Is There Still A Role For Soil Physics? |
| 23th May 1998 | Dr Roberto LentonDirector International Irrigation Management Institute | The International Irrigation Management Institute: Its objectives & Initial |
| 20th May 1998 | Johan HolmbergExecutive Secretary of the Global Water Partnership | A Knowledge-Intensive Network for Sustainable Water Resources Management |
| 21th May 1997 | Prof Tony AllanSOAS London | |
| 22th May 1996 | Reg PurnellChief Engineer, Flood and Coastal Defence Division, Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food | Flood Defence And Drainage – Money Down The Drain? |
| 24th May 1995 | John Hennessy | Global Water Conservation |
| 25th May 1994 | Roy StonorSouthampton University | The Nile |
| 20th May 1992 | Peter Ackers | Canal & River regime in theory and practice 1929-1992 |
| 22th May 1991 | Prof Jack Keller | Managing Irrigation Enterprises |
| 23th May 1990 | Sir Hugh Fish | The Role of the NRAs in Drainage Basin Management |
| 24th May 1989 | Jim Dempster | Development of the Lower Brahmaptura Basin |
| 20th May 1987 | Brian TraffordHead of Environmental & Land Management Services MAFF | A Review of the UK Work on the drainage and irrigation engineer |
| 21th May 1986 | Bart SchultzHead Water Management Ijsselmene Polders Development Authority Netherlands | Drainage Works on the Zuuiderzee Project |
| 30th May 1985 | Guy Le MoigneIrrigation Adviser World Bank | World Bank Involvement in Irrigation and Drainage |
| 16th May 1984 | Bob RangeleyPresident ICID | Challenges, Problems & Solutions in Irrigation Today |
The Irrigation and Water Forum 