On 5 December 2023, UNESCO announced the inclusion of traditional irrigation in the Upper Venosta Valley on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity at its meeting in Botswana. The initiative for inclusion on the list was taken jointly with Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Belgium.
The characteristic irrigation channels paths in the Venosta Valley are narrow paths that run along the old water channels on the slopes or along the valley, usually without significant inclines. These paths accompany the irrigation channels that were built many centuries ago and are still used today to irrigate the fields in the valley.
Around 400 hectares of extensive farmland on the Malser Haide between the village of Burgeis and Lake Haidersee are still irrigated in the traditional way via the four irrigation channels - Larginwaal, Magrinswaal, Töschgwaal and Nuiwaal. This is done by regular flooding according to a strictly regulated schedule. This traditional irrigation method relies on a skilful combination of the use of gravity and manually created structures such as feed pipes, ditches and water impoundments to channel the water evenly into the meadows. This technique requires a thorough understanding of the morphology of the meadows.