In July 2025, the Josip Juraj Strossmayer Water Institute and SeaCras, signed a cooperation agreement in the field of research and development of technologies for the analysis and monitoring of the state of marine and inland waters, strengthening efforts in water protection.
This partnership brings together expert knowledge in the management and analysis of all types of water bodies, on-site sampling capabilities, centralised data fusion systems, and state-of-the-art artificial intelligence models for environmental monitoring.
All this is enhanced through the integration of very high-resolution satellite imagery and enriched with various meteorological and anthropogenic descriptors within a digital twin infrastructure.
The transfer of knowledge and technology between partners will support the monitoring of all aquatic ecosystems, including marine environments and inland waters such as lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and dams.
Particular emphasis is placed on improving monitoring practices and understanding the short- and long-term impacts of treated wastewater discharges on water quality descriptors in urbanised areas.
This partnership adopts an approach fully aligned with key EU and international strategic frameworks and policies, including:
- Water Framework Directive (WFD) – 2000/60/EC
- Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) – 2008/56/EC
- Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD) – 91/271/EEC
- Bathing Water Directive (BWD) – 2006/7/EC
- United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – particularly Goals (Good Health and Well-being), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), 13 (Climate Action), and 14 (Life Below Water)
This initiative also contributes to the priorities set by the European Commission in the fields of digital transformation, Green Deal objectives, and Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3), especially in the domains of climate resilience, AI-powered environmental monitoring, and data-driven water governance.
The Josip Juraj Strossmayer Water Institute, established by the Government of the Republic of Croatia, is renowned for its expertise in the fields of natural, biotechnical, and technical sciences, particularly in chemistry and biology, with a focus on water science and quality assessment.