BioWaWi: Biodiversity and Water Management — Developing Innovative Action Plans for Water Management Companies to Preserve Biodiversity and Ecosystems
In the BioWaWi research project, German partners are working to develop indicator-based measures to preserve biodiversity in water protection areas (WSG). The protection of drinking water is ensured primarily through intact ecosystems and their services (ÖSL), allowing for the identification of clear synergies between nature conservation and water management. WSG are essential components of value creation, particularly for drinking water treatment plants. Only functioning, vital, and sustainably developing ecosystems can guarantee raw water that is as uncontaminated as possible for drinking water production. Biodiversity and ecosystem functionality must be integrated more strongly than before as intrinsic components of a comprehensive, sustainable, and climate-adapted operational management system. In light of the challenges posed by current climate change and biodiversity loss, the BioWaWi project aims to contribute to the conservation of biological diversity and ecological services and to introduce an environmental management system for this purpose.
Project Tasks and Targets
The BioWaWi project targets assessing the value of biodiversity and ecological services, translating this assessment into an IT-supported, permanent monitoring system using appropriate indicators, and thereby integrating it into the decision-making processes of municipal water management companies through an environmental management system. Prioritizing corporate goals regarding the conservation of biodiversity and ecological quality of water requires coordination with local stakeholders to incorporate local knowledge into the processes and to facilitate a balance between the various interests of different local groups. By involving additional water supply companies through the project advisory board, the transferability of the methods and concepts developed here will be assessed. This research program, conducted as part of a three-year project, can certainly be carried out by a small, manageable water supply company, such as the one in Bühl.
Project details:
Funding: The research project “BioWaWi: Biodiversity and Water Management — Developing Innovative Action Plans for Water Management Companies to Preserve Biodiversity and Ecosystems” is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as part of the funding initiative “Valuing and Safeguarding Biodiversity in Politics, Business, and Society” (BiodiWert II).
Grant ID: 03LW0088K
Duration: November 1, 2021 – October 31, 2025
Project Management:
Prof. Dr. Stefan Norra
Institute of Environmental Sciences and Geography
Soil Science and Geoecology
University
of Potsdam Golm Campus, Building 12
14476 Potsdam - Golm
Email: norra∂uni-potsdam.de
Dr. Elisabeth Eiche
Institute of Applied Geosciences
Geochemistry & Economic Geology
Environmental Mineralogy & Environmental System Analysis (ENMINSA)
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Kaiserstraße 12, 76131 Karlsruhe
Phone: +49 721 608-43327
Email: elisabeth eiche∂kit edu
Project Coordination:
Dr. Flavia Digiacomo
Institute of Applied Geosciences
Geochemistry & Economic Geology
Environmental Mineralogy & Environmental System Analysis (ENMINSA)
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Kaiserstraße 12, 76131 Karlsruhe
Phone: +49 721 608-42758
Email: flavia digiacomo∂kit edu
Dr. Jonas Bauer
Institute of Applied Geosciences
Geochemistry & Economic Geology
Environmental Mineralogy & Environmental System Analysis (ENMINSA)
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Kaiserstraße 12, 76131 Karlsruhe
Email: jonas bauer∂kit edu