3.4 Mezzo level - Cross-border groundwater bodies

The results of this work were also welcomed on the level of the EU, and the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union included them in March 2021 in their last adopted document on the Sustainable Blue Economy.

During the recognition of the blue and green corridors in the Slovenian sea, we considered the recognised main migration paths of sea mammals, the directions of the main sea currents (link with the macroregional GI), the results of the COHENET macroregional project (Figure 12), the location of the important coastal habitats (the Natura 2000 areas, protected areas) and the main river mouths on the Slovenian coast (Rižana, Badaševica, Drnica and Dragonja).

Because the reference biodiversity and the presence of fish species in the Slovenian sea, which are important for the economy, depend heavily on the management and usage of the sea in the neighbouring countries, especially Croatia and Italy, the PPN of Slovenia in the border area also addresses the need for recognising the protected sea areas and corridors in the sea of the aforementioned countries. This is how the PPN of Slovenia also became a document for harmonising cross-border issues regarding the ecological connection with the Italian and Croatian sides, for addressing the rights of Slovenia regarding the supply of healthy and sufficient seafood, and also for the start of activities in upgrading the necessary expert bases.

Cross-border groundwater body of Karavanke

Underground waters are a strategically important natural source for supplying people with a healthy drinking water. Due to the unsuitable agricultural, industrial, traffic, urban and tourism activities, the pressures and impacts on underground sources are still increasing. To preserve quality sources of drinking water for future generations, the representatives of Slovenia and Austria adopted the decision on the implementation of detailed and harmonised hydrogeological research of the mountain massif of Karavanke already in 1993 in the framework of the Permanent Slovenian-Austrian committee for the water economy. It is a mountain chain spanning more than 100 kilometres which is very rich with various water sources. The results of these research activities made it possible to determine the cross-border groundwater bodies at Karavanke and to declare this status in Slovenia and Austria in line with the EU water directive. This declaration makes it possible to regularly monitor the situation of underground waters and to exchange this information for implementing protection regimes and measures that are related to the development of the sensitive karst region of Karavanke and could affect the status of the water. More than two decades of cooperation of Slovenian and Austrian experts on underground waters at Karavanke is a good investment for the strengthening of the know-how and actions to responsibly manage the common riches that are of supraregional importance for our own and for the future generations in terms of their quality and abundance.

Figure 15: Cross-border Austrian-Slovenian water body Karavanke [26.]