Keep the water

Visegrad Network for Water Retention –

Intro:
The project focuses on water retention in 3 of the V4 countries, which share a common heritage of large-scale agricultural lands, often on plowed-up former wetlands. These landscapes are dried up, making the effects of climate change worse and are vulnerable to flash floods. The harsh large-scale intensive agriculture leads to wetland fragmentation and dramatic loss of habitats and wildlife. Current water
retention efforts focus on restorations in protected areas mainly. Water retention is, though, undoubtedly necessary EVERYWHERE.

Our project aims to highlight this problem on unprotected, agriculturally used lands, helping to bring back plowed-up wetlands, create new habitats and raise the sponge effect of the general
landscape.

The project connects local grassroots in SK, HU and CZ to share best practices, expertise and encourage new initiatives. We bring a common guide for the emerging grassroots based on best existing practices and experiences of these first projects. The impact, we hope, would be the trained local experts and the identified future project sites to be returned to nature.

Project outcomes:

Book of best practices and common guide in water retention in agricultural lands in HU, CZ and SK:
The purpose of this outcome is to share best practices and local knowledge in water retention in one document. It will be a tool for local initiatives from around the V4 countries to gain know-how and
contacts in this field. We hope to provide a potential to multiply the number of new water retention projects in the respective countries.
Scheduled for ……….

Photogrametric mapping of a future project spot in Slovakia:
Photogrametric maps are one of the necessary underlying documents for wetland restoration projects that need to undergo legal approval processes. They are also powerful visual tools in justifying the need of the intervention. As an outcome, a proposed site in Slovakia, „Čére” – a 400 ha spot of former wetland
near village Jurová, district Dunajská Streda will be mapped by a drone to create a map of isolines in the physical terrain. The set of maps will be transformed into a video sequence.
Scheduled for 09-10/2027

Educational and awareness-raising strategy in water retention for HU, SK and CZ:
This outcome collects the 20+ years long experience of the HU partner in environmental awareness-raising targeting the children and the stakeholders. The partners can build their own awareness-raising projects based on this strategy and thus boost public support and sympathies for water retention projects implemented locally.
Scheduled for …………..

Events:

Workshop in Hungary, Dunasziget and Kiskunmajsa:
18/03/2027–20/03/2027
Two-day workshop on 2 places in Hungary dedicated to environmental education (Dunasziget), site visits and workshop in practical water retention (Kiskunmajsa). The objective is to identify potential new education programmes or tools in the topic of water retention, visit revitalized sites and draw up the common guide in water retention in agricultural landscapes.

Workshop in the Czech Republic, Vohančice:
20/05/2027–21/05/2027
Two-day workshop in the Tišnov region with site visits of local water-retention projects in the Vohančice area and a workshop dedicated to drafting the common guide.

Closing conference Water Retention in the V4 region, Dunajská Streda, Slovakia:
10/11/2027–10/11/2027
The event will communicate the results of the project, promote the idea of water retention, especially on agricultural land to help fight climate change, with stakeholders being the municipalities, geographically affected companies as well as NGOs, Slovak water management experts, public authorities and administration.

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Project partners:

DUNAVIT – Podunajské ochranárske združenie – Dunamenti Tájvédelmi Társulat

MAS Brána Vysočiny

Pisztráng Kör Egyesület

Contacts:

Valéria K. Szomolai	Dunavit teamleader	[email protected]
László Tóth	Dunavit chairman	[email protected]
Ondřej Konečný	chairman MAS Brána Vysočiny
Zoltán Fűzfa	chairman Pisztráng Kör Egyesület	[email protected]
Oszkár Nagyapáti	cooperating expert	[email protected]