A meeting within the GroundEco project (Joint management of groundwater dependent ecosystems in transboundary Gauja-Koiva river basin) was arranged in Rõuge, Võru County. The Geological Survey of Estonia arranged the first assembly of all the partners for becoming acquainted with the Estonian study area. On the second day, the Latvian study area was jointly visited under the guidance of the Department of Geology, University of Latvia.
The aim of the project is to reinforce sustainable management of the groundwater resources and dependent ecosystems within the cross-border Gauja-Koiva drainage basin. One objective is to enable the Latvian partners to apply the methodology developed in Estonia for identifying ecosystems depending on groundwater. This provides the opportunity to improve the methodology already developed at the Institute of Ecology, University of Tallinn. At later stages, application of the methodology will be tested on the pilot areas, Kazu leja (krava) in the Priekuli region, Latvia and Matsi spring mire of the Rõuge Parish, Estonia.
