SLOVENIA, November 4 - At the two-day meeting, which took place as part of the Slovenian Location Framework (SLO4D) project, participants heard presentations of ongoing activities and project results, mainly in the field of water management.

Examples of good practice in cooperation between various institutions in cross-border river basins, and in establishing information systems for water management in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Germany, as well as practical examples of the use of artificial intelligence, emergency response experiences, collection and use of water infrastructure data, ways of improving data accessibility for users, research projects at universities in Ljubljana and Maribor, and development activities of the Institute for Water were presented. Activities for the planned upgrade of the eWaters portal and the Water Atlas GIS Viewer, where the DRSV already provides an extensive set of spatial data, were also presented, including plans to provide a better user experience and easier data management through upgrades of the web portal and the GIS Viewer.

Speakers at the international conference were experts from state institutions, representatives of international commissions for the Sava and the Danube river basin, representatives of the German and Austrian environment agencies, the Sava River Watershed Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, experts in water infrastructure management from the Water Authority Limburg in the Netherlands, professors from the University of Ljubljana and the University of Maribor, experts in spatial informatics, remote sensing and software solution developers from the private sector.

The developments in this area were summarised by Peter Kolenko, the head of the SLO4D project at the DRSV, who said: “The digital age is bringing fundamental changes in water management, as new technologies enable better understanding, monitoring and planning of water resources. The use of digital tools such as Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, remote sensing, artificial intelligence (AI) and big data enables more accurate collection and analysis of information regarding the quality, quantity and distribution of water. Such solutions contribute to more effective decision-making, early warning of droughts or floods, and optimisation of water consumption in agriculture, industry and households.”

Despite the great opportunities, digitalisation also brings challenges, with Peter Kolenko noting in particular the optimisation of procedures, “which will ensure better decision-making in water-related procedures and the indirectly related efficient use of space. A key part is a system for the improved distribution of data to various interest-based communities and good connectivity between different systems. We certainly must not forget about data security and privacy, which represents a growing challenge in a modern and open society.”