FairWater

FairWater: Collaborative and fair catchment-based water management – stress testing droughts and floods for resilient multifunctional use of water aims to develop novel solutions addressing the water-society-ecology nexus in Swedish water management. This project directly engages with a diverse range of stakeholders – including researchers, authorities and representatives from various societal sectors and interest groups – who are responsible for, engaged with, or impacted by decisions in water management and use.

The Motala Ström river basin in Sweden serves as our pilot area. Drawing on scenario analysis and effective examples of fair governance, we are facilitating a collaborative process to generate new goals, priorities, synergies and incentives. These efforts are supported by existing legal instruments for adaptive water planning. Our ultimate goal is to establish catchment-based water governance that is effective, equitable and resilient, where nature-based solutions and green infrastructure are at the forefront.

FairWater will be:

• Stress-testing various management options during different climate change and hydrological scenarios for integrated planning in river basins. This involves risk reduction and effective water use, applying state-of-the-art science in hydrology and water resource engineering.
• Analysing and understanding challenges such as power dynamics and conflicting interests, as well as identifying opportunities and best practices. Our aim is to propose and test new methods of cooperation, collaboration and coherence.
• Utilizing learning and innovation labs, we are engaging stakeholders in a series of workshops. These labs are grounded in theories of participatory processes, adaptive co-management, and Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning.

Throughout the project period, we will monitor our achievements to evaluate progress and the effectiveness of the approaches applied or suggested in managing the water-society-ecology nexus.