KaraWAT: Sustainable cross-border management of water resources in the Karawanken UNESCO Global Geopark

KaraWAT: Sustainable Management of Water Resources in the Geopark Karawanken across Borders
Logo Interreg Slovenia – Austria
Financed by: INTERREG V-A SI-AT 2014-2020

The water systems of the UNESCO Geopark Karawanken are interconnected across the border of Austria and Slovenia in several ways and can therefore only be sustainably examined and managed in a joint effort.

Due to many pressing challenges in the field of water management, for example flood protection measures and the protection of water bodies, the project KaraWAT, financed by INTERREG V-A SI-AT, developed a bilateral water strategy that serves as an instrument of action for the 14 municipalities involved in the project area.

The water strategy was the final product of a number of transdisciplinary research methods implemented for developing and implementing innovative technologies for sustainable water management. The local population and stakeholders were invited to help design the strategy in a participatory process and to raise awareness for the relevance of sustainable water management. Besides the water management strategy, the main project deliverables were:

  • interactive web viewer for water management (https://geopark-karawanken-waters.eu/viewer/index.html?locale=en), as a single-entry point to geoinformation across borders;
  • innovative augmented reality model for the new visitor center Geo.Dom in the Karawanken Geopark, illustrating the water flow of Peca mountain;
  • preparing the content, design, and printing of new signs for the mineral water springs of the municipality of Eisenkappel-Vellach / Železna Kapla-Bela;
  • action recommendations for sustainable forest management to improve ecosystem services for water management;
  • installation of three monitoring sites of karstic water springs of Peca mountain (https://geopark-karawanken-waters.eu/dashboard/en-GB/);
  • risk maps for water management in the municipality of Ravne na Koroškem.

The three project partners – EVTZ Geopark Karawanken m.b.H., the UNESCO Chair on Sustainable Management of Conservation Areas, and the Geological Survey of Slovenia (GeoZS – lead partner) – worked together and were supported by experts from the Office of the Carinthian Provincial Government, Dep. no. 8 ‘Environment, energy and nature conservation’ and Dep. no. 12 ‘Water Management’, as well as the Water Directorate and the Environmental Agency of the Republic of Slovenia.

The Karawanken/Karavanke UNESCO Geopark is one of 161 UNESCO Global Geoparks in 44 countries. UNESCO Geoparks are landscapes of international significance that comprise a high

geodiversity. Geodiversity is defined as the variety of earth materials, forms, and processes that constitute and shape the Earth, including rocks, sediments, fossils, soils, and water. They are managed with a holistic concept of nature protection, education, and sustainable development. The project KaraWAT contributes in this context to the sustainable management of water resources.

All further information on the outcomes of the project and reports can be found at the Karawanken UNESCO Global Geopark homepage: https://www.geopark-karawanken.at/karawat/

Project Duration: Jan 2021 – Aug 2022