Regional Mountain Conference

The CoWaVis project – “Water Availability and Use in a Deglaciated Ötztal: A Co-Creative Development of a Common Vision for the Future” is working on current and future water use in the high-alpine region in the context of global warming, and is working towards developing a shared vision for the future that takes the water needs of all stakeholders in a fair and balanced way. The project addresses changes in the availability and seasonal distribution of water in the future. At the same time, changed water requirements in the economic sectors of agriculture, tourism and energy production can be anticipated. Questions arise regarding the equitable distribution between economic demand and the retention of water within ecosystems and the landscape, as well as with regard to current and anticipated future social conflicts. Through a co-creative process with regional research partners, the aim is to develop an evidence-based, shared vision for the future of water availability and use in the Oetz Valley.

The interdisciplinary research team uses a variety of future-making techniques to open up a space for evidence-based discussion. Thus, the project is building up a strategy for water-related envisioning of the regional future. The project CoWaVis is funded by the Austrian Academy of Sciences and located at the University of Innsbruck.