Karst groundwater protection project The European Commission, DG XII, has published the final report of COST Action 65 which researched groundwater protection in karstic areas and developed a series of guidelines for karst groundwater protection. Karst aquifers are of major importance for the water supply of Eur... The European Commission, DG XII, has published the final report of COST Action 65 which researched groundwater protection in karstic areas and developed a series of guidelines for karst groundwater protection. Karst aquifers are of major importance for the water supply of European countries, in particular for Mediterranean states. In fact, they can be considered as the main groundwater resource in Europe. The COST Action aimed to assess the present knowledge of karst aquifers and to improve approaches to research projects aimed at the protection of such resources. The Action involved a wide exchange of knowledge among scientists from 16 European countries where karst is widespread. The final report contains individual national reports from the participating countries and reports from the joint working groups, as well as the COST Action guidelines for the protection of karst groundwater areas. The guidelines are also presented in a seperate leaflet which provides a synopsis of the results for general readership.
