In a world where eco-anxiety affects nearly one in two young people, young people need to know more than ever that they are not alone in facing the ecological crisis. Creating an international network of young people who are interested in learning and understanding more about the ecological issues in the Alps is one of your goals. Water is a borderless resource. Its decreasing availability could lead to conflicts over its use. We believe it is essential to foster a shared Alpine and European culture that recognises water as a common good. This must consider issues of solidarity between upstream and downstream parts of catchments, as well as between catchments at a transnational level.
Carla, Volunteers Officer from Tetraktys, introduces the exchange
Luka, a forestry student from Slovenia, says he joined the exchange for broadening his views and get a more international vision on the water management issue. “We don’t have many glaciers left in Slovenia” Luka says, “but even though France and other countries are experiencing this problem more, the whole world is suffering from drought, and we need to talk to each other and try to find a solution together”.
“We’re learning about major challenges in mountain region.” adds Lucie, from France. “We are discovering the different ecosystems like peatlands, rock glaciers, rivers… and here we can exchange ideas with so many other young people that all share a common values and hope”. Jakob, from Germany, was very pleased with the group and the exchange, too. “I learnt so many aspects that I didn’t know before, like that that climate change is not only affecting water availability”. For some valleys, water scarcity is a Summer-related issue, but for others it is a year-round problem. He agrees that young people should work together, because “this is not only affecting our future”.
Waterwise work on pilot sites is progressing steadily. Local stakeholders in the 8 pilot sites have been engaged for the first round of workshops and are now participating in the second round, the one where the common narrative about water resources in their area has been shared. The common narrative was developed by project partners Passau University, Tetraktys and French Nature Reserve, and is now being integrated and shared by all stakeholders in the different sites.
Our second year of activities is almost over, and we are soon entering our third and final year of implementation. We are excited about the results gathered so far and we are looking forward to seeing what’s up next!