ABSTRACT
The WOKAM project supported by the International Association of Hydrogeologists and UNESCO was established in 2012 in order to obtain a better global overview of karst aquifers, to create a basis for sustainable international and global water resources management, and to increase the awareness and knowledge concerning these special resources, both among the public and the decision-makers. The team of international experts is responsible for data collection and evaluation, definition of methodology and creation of the new karst aquifers map and the associated database. The map, to be completed in 2016, will not only show carbonate rock and evaporite outcrops, but also display deep and confined karst aquifers, large karst springs, including thermal and mineral springs, drinking water abstraction sites and selected caves. The World Karst Aquifer Map is based on the highly detailed Global Lithological Map (GLiM) and is intended to supplement the existing map of Groundwater Resources of the World (WHYMAP). The paper presents some examples and large differences between karstic aquifers of the Alpine system of South East Europe, the Near and Middle East, which have some of the most karstified and richest water reserves in the world, and the less productive and developed East African karst.
