This shift in approach is gradually bringing about a crucial change in how dredging is perceived. There is a growing recognition that best practice management of dredging and dredged sediments can result in real environmental gain for fluvial and coastal ecosytems while ensuring that rivers continue to function as economic lifelines for local, regional and national economies. Examples of "dredging with nature" include the return of dredged sediments to the estuary in a controlled way to help maintain natural processes or to increase inter-tidal areas and habitats such as wetlands, nesting islands and offshore reefs.

Navigation channels and ports will always require dredging to ensure safe navigation and enable commercial activity, so dredging and dredged sediment management will remain an integral element of the sustainable development of rivers and coastal zones.

WODCON XVII will bring together international researchers and practitioners from industry, academia and government to discuss all aspects of "dredging with nature".

The organisers of WODCON XVII are thus especially encouraging of papers which address dredging as part of a larger vision which ensures the ecological and economic functions of our water environments receive balanced treatment.

Topics of interest could include but are not limited to river basin scale sediment management strategies, including contaminated sediments; sustainable relocation of dredged sediments;

environmental restoration in estuaries; beach replenishment;

regulatory developments; and source control programes. The Congress will also address a range of more general dredging topics such as automation and control of the dredging process; land reclamation; sand, gravel and mineral mining; remedial (clean-up) dredging; beneficial use of dredged materials, including the economics; treatment and disposal of contaminated dredged materials; and pre and post-dredge monitoring.

The deadline for submitting a paper abstract for WODCON XVII is 1 October 2003, with notifications of acceptance made by 1 December 2003. Subsequent key dates will be submission of draft manuscripts by 15 February 2004, reviewer comments to authors by 15 April 2004, and submission of camera-ready papers by 15 July 2004.

Interested authors are advised to visit www. woda. org or contact the CEDA Secretariat, Anna Csiti, PO Box 488, 2600 AL Delft, The Netherlands. Tel: +31 (0)15 278 3145, Fax: +31 (0)15 278 7104, Email: ceda@dredging.org