Launch of InfraSETS – Infrastructuring Social–Ecological Transformations in Water Management and Nature Protection in Karst Landscapes

We are pleased to announce the launch of InfraSETS – Infrastructuring Social–Ecological Transformations in Water Management and Nature Protection in Karst Landscapes, which will start in July 2025 and run until June 2030. Funded by the Volkswagen Foundation’s Change! Fellowships and Research Groups, the project builds on Regulate’s experience in evidence-based and participatory infrastructure governance.

Project Vision

InfraSETS investigates how water infrastructures can be sustainably shaped in particularly vulnerable karst landscapes, where complex hydrogeology intersects with high biodiversity. In cooperation with biosphere reserves and water management actors, the team is co-developing participatory modelling, mapping, and scenario-building tools that aim to support transformative pathways and foster joint learning for more resilient regions.

Core Research Strategy

InfraSETS will establish transformative spaces in four European karst areas:

• Southern Harz (Germany) – aiming for UNESCO biosphere reserve designation
• Velebit Massif (Croatia) – UNESCO-listed since 1977
• Valle del Cabriel (Spain) – UNESCO biosphere since 2019
• Prenj limestone mountains (Bosnia & Herzegovina) – working toward national park status

These sites serve as transformative spaces, in which science and practice work together in a spirit of trust and experiment with ideas and (research) practices to enable transformative developments.

The project works across two closely connected levels:

1. Research in the regions – Co-developing infrastructure components such as exhibition tools, risk strategies, interactive maps, dialogue formats, and advisory services together with local actors
2. Transformation of knowledge spaces – Enabling collaborative learning, peer-to-peer exchange, and lasting networks between research and practice

Relevance

Infrastructure systems are powerful agents of change: they can either enable or hinder societal and ecological transformations. In karst regions—marked by hidden aquifers and heightened climate vulnerability—resilient water governance is critical. InfraSETS adopts a social–ecological perspective, combining participatory methods with hydrogeological modelling to design adaptive interventions for water and nature protection.

What’s Next?

Stay tuned for updates! InfraSETS continues the legacy of Regulate by connecting local water governance with global sustainability ambitions—and by advancing socially robust infrastructure innovation.