Karst without Boundaries

This book contains contributions written by leading experts in  karstology, karst hydrogeology and closely related fields. Achievements in karst research by three authors who have been awarded the annual prize of the IAH Karst Commission, are included.  The main focus of this book is to learn about the important and complex aquifer system. The book consists of four main subjects: 1. Management of transboundary karst aquifers; 2. Karst aquifer characterization and monitoring; 3. Water flow in karst: from vadose to discharge zone; and 4. Engineering, sustainable use and protection of water in karst.

Karstified rocks of different lithology cover more than 10% of the continental surface of our planet. It is known that some 20% or even a few percent more of the global population largely depends on karstic groundwater but in many karst areas all over the world there are limited natural resources including absence of drinking waters. The problems of water shortage, equitable water use or water protection from pollution, become more problematic when they come to transboundary regions. The Dinaric region is a classical karst area where created borders of newly established countries after the civil war in 1990s resulted with an urgent need to create ambience for sustainable water management. The project DIKTAS is one of the first ever attempts to establish sustainable integrated management principles in a transboundary karst aquifer of the magnitude of the Dinaric Karst System. This volume presents selected papers from the conference held in June 2014 in Trebinje, Bosnia & Herzegovina including presentations of some of the project’s achievements but also number of other research results conducted in karst environments worldwide.