Water can present a risk when there is a lack of or excess of it. These weather extremes, intensified by climate change can lead to interchangeable periods of drought and excess water within a single year, and even to development of hydrologic hazards.
The project “Improvement of drought and excess water monitoring for supporting water management and mitigation of risks related to extreme weather conditions”, also known as WATERatRISK offered solutions for monitoring of drought and excess water in the Hungary-Serbia border region which created a base for sustainable development of the region.
The project consisted of five main areas of work:
- Improving monitoring of drought and excess inland water – the project partners created a database and an interactive website with published results of monitoring conducted via remote detection technology.
- Estimating the impact and risks of drought and excess water – this area focused primarily on agriculture and it involved experiments of vegetation, on both sides of the border. The project used satellite recording, drones and thermal camera for this purpose.
- Developing plans for managing Dong-ér stream in Hungary and the Čurug-Žabalj catchment in Serbia
- Founding a research centre for gathering of experts and enabling research projects in the future, as well. The research centre was established at the University of Szeged, Hungary in November 2017.
- Organizing thematic workshops – the project partners organized five such public workshops, which gathered experts from various related fields. Additionally the project hosted events intended for young people – the Researchers’ Night in Hungary, and participated within the Science Festival in Serbia.
The project presented a partnership of the following organizations from Hungary – the University of Szeged (as the Lead Beneficiary of the project), and the Lower-Tisza-District Water Directorate, and from Serbia – the University of Novi Sad Faculty of Sciences, the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Novi Sad, and the Public Water Management Company “Vode Vojvodine”.
Between 1 October 2017 and 30 September 2019 the project tackled the Programme’s priority for improving cross-border water management and risk prevention systems.
The enclosed video (in Serbian and Hungarian) was produced within the project WATERatRISK to provide an overview of the partnership, the work involved, as more importantly the project results:
Hungarian: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=Fg1z2f9cf_w
Serbian: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwrOal3TKd4