A Young Scientist Explores the Hidden World of Groundwater

Beneath the ground lies a whole world with which people rarely come into contact. A world made up of natural tunnels, underground rivers and vast reserves of water flowing through the rock. A landscape invisible to our eyes but essential to the lives of millions of people.

Uroš Jurošević, a hydrogeologist from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is the youngest expert involved in the DIKTAS II project, and it is precisely this hidden underground world that has sparked his curiosity and passion for what lies beyond our sight. Like many students who start university without knowing for certain what their professional future holds, Uroš decided to embark on this path to discover hydrogeology without knowing whether it was the right one. In his view, geology and hydrogeology are little-known disciplines in the traditional school system, which makes them less appealing; yet, if studied carefully, one discovers how fundamental they are to daily life and the management of natural resources.

Fieldwork, the observation of natural systems and university-based training have turned hydrogeology into a genuine passion for Uroš: he has realised that groundwater is both close at hand and mysterious.

"Curiosity is very important in hydrogeology and willingness to learn something, to explore. If you think in this way, hydrogeology can be a very, very interesting career."

-Uroš Jurošević

Hydrogeology tells a story, brings together numerous scientific disciplines and requires us to look at the problem from many different perspectives. It rarely offers simple answers and keeps raising new questions.

Karst landscapes, for example, are fascinating to analyse. They behave unpredictably; water can vanish rapidly from the surface, following natural cavities, only to re-emerge kilometres further on as a spring. What appears to be a simple natural feature is in fact the result of an extremely complex and unpredictable underground network. For a hydrogeologist like Uroš, every field expedition represents a new opportunity to observe something unexpected. For example, in the cross-border areas between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the DIKTAS II team is working to better understand the functioning of a shared aquifer, every visit becomes a discovery of springs, sinkholes and unexpected connections.

“One could devote an entire lifetime to studying a single area and still keep discovering something new.”

-Uroš Jurošević

The behaviour of water in karst systems is constantly changing depending on environmental conditions, and this often poses a challenge even to the experts who must take measurements on a regular basis. Uroš argues that it is precisely this unpredictability that makes the work so stimulating: every piece of data collected does not represent the conclusion of a study, but the start of the next question.

Within the DIKTAS II project, work is carried out by an international team composed by experts from different fields of study. For Uroš, one of the most formative experiences in this regard has been his involvement in international projects. His first participation in an international technical cooperation programme showed him the potential of bringing people from different fields together to tackle a common problem. The same is happening in the DIKTAS II project, where hydrogeologists, biologists, lawyers, institutional representatives, and local communities examine the same challenges from different perspectives. A single perspective is not enough; it is essential that different perspectives and areas of expertise work together to develop effective and lasting solutions. Furthermore, Uroš’s generation faces particularly pressing issues that need to be addressed: climate change, rising demand for water and pressure on natural resources. The sustainable management of groundwater is a key priority.

The work within the DIKTAS II project is not limited to the study of natural processes; it also involves contributing to the protection of a shared resource that transcends the administrative boundaries of the various countries. Groundwater does not follow these boundaries and flows across national borders, connecting communities, ecosystems and neighbouring countries. For this reason, Uroš points out that managing groundwater requires cooperation and coordination between different stakeholders. For him, this is where the core value of an international project lies: in creating these cross-border connections, not limiting itself to the scientific context but reaching out to every local context, from citizens to institutions; otherwise, even the best available data would easily be lost.

Many professions do not require looking beyond the surface. This aspect of hydrogeology still fascinates Uroš Jurošević today just as much as it did when he was a university student: a way of studying and exploring a resource that is all around us but is not always easy to access or understand. Being curious and committed to the study of hydrogeology is enough to make it an interesting career path to pursue, especially when we look to the future with ever-increasing pressure on water resources from industry and population growth- a future that will require more hydrogeologists to manage and protect these shared and precious water resources.

DIKTAS II is a Global Environment Facility (GEF) International Waters project implemented by UNDP and executed by UNESCO. It supports transboundary cooperation to improve groundwater governance and promote sustainable management of the Dinaric Karst Aquifer System across Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro.

For more information, please contact Sinisa Sesum, Head of the UNESCO Antenna in Sarajevo, s.sesum@unesco.org or Boban Jolović, Project Manager, b.jolovic@unesco.org.

Words by Niccolò Berselli, Francesca Bampa, Boban Jolović and Sinisa Sesum.

Thumbnail: DIKTAS II Hydrogeology Expert Group by DIKTAS II.