This paper investigates the potential for Sweden to develop a coherent Water Resource Law capable of addressing national hydrological and governance challenges within the framework of the EU Water Acquis. Based on results from the Policylabb Vattenresurslag project and a case study of the Kävlingeån catchment area in southern Sweden, it analyses how fragmented regulation, outdated water judgements, and overlapping institutional mandates limit adaptive water management and local accountability. Through a series of policy labs involving municipal representatives, regional authorities, water utilities, and civil society actors, the study identifies the need for basin-based coordination mechanisms, clarified decision-making authority, and sustainable financing models, including possible water-use fees consistent with the EU’s cost-recovery principles. It also highlights the importance of improved hydrological data, transparency, and participatory governance to enhance legitimacy and effectiveness. Comparative insights from the Netherlands, France, Spain, and Australia reveal viable institutional pathways for balancing centralised legal requirements with regional and local autonomy. The paper concludes that a Swedish Water Resource Law could provide a necessary legal and organisational bridge between EU obligations and national needs, fostering more integrated, equitable, and climate-resilient water governance. Achieving this, however, requires institutional innovation, legal clarity, and a democratic process that reconciles technical efficiency with social legitimacy.

Efforts to achieve sustainable water governance unfold within an increasingly complex landscape of interdependent systems. Water is not governed in isolation: it is deeply entangled with the infrastructures, technologies, and institutions of energy, food, housing, transport, water utilities, industrial production, extractive industries, land use, etc. This paper introduces the water plexus approach, a multi-systems dynamics framework designed to enable analysis of resistance and transformations of natural resource systems. While existing water–energy–food nexus research highlights cross-sectoral interdependencies (e.g. Albrecht et al 2018), its scope sets limits to a more holistic understanding of multi-systems dynamics, and the consequences on natural resource systems sustainability. The plexus approach transcends this by conceptualizing water governance as embedded within a mesh of interacting socio-technical, socio-ecological, and institutional regimes at the level of the catchment area. It does so by integrating insights from socio-technical transitions theory (e.g. Geels, 2002), multi-system analysis (e.g. Andersen & Geels 2023), socio-ecological systems theory (e.g. Folke et al. 2005), and natural resource governance (e.g. Olsson et al 2004).

Understanding the drivers of hydrological change is fundamental for sustainable water governance. This study investigates the long-term hydroclimatic variability and drought evolution in the Kävlingeån Basin, southern Sweden, from 1970 to 2020. Trend analyses of precipitation, runoff, and potential evapotranspiration reveal increasing atmospheric demand and decreasing runoff, suggesting an overall drying tendency. Drought indices (SPEI-03 and SPEI-12) further indicate more persistent and seasonally asymmetric aridity. The monthly SPEI-03 trend analysis shows significant drying in March and April, coinciding with the onset of the agricultural growing season—implying potential challenges for crop production and irrigation management in this predominantly agricultural basin. Attribution analysis suggests that factors other than precipitation (P) and potential evaporation (E₀) are the most important contributors to observed streamflow changes, indicating that human activities have likely played a key role in reshaping the basin’s hydrological balance. Land-use data reveal urban expansion, cropland reduction, and forest recovery.

Inspired by fertilizer use, we investigate behavior in settings where externalities arise from individual activities crossing an uncertain individual threshold. We show within an analytic model that only threshold uncertainty causes individual and social interests to diverge with individuals accepting a larger probability of crossing the threshold than is socially optimal. We then theoretically investigate the impact of information on thresholds as well as taxing the caused externalities for fertilizer use. We test our predictions within an experiment with Swedish farmers. The data collection will take place in winter 2025/2026.

This article examines the use and omission of human rights and justice terminology in national water strategies and the potential implications for policy impact, social equity, and alignment with international standards. Despite global recognition of water as a human right (UNGA 2010), national policies vary widely in their use of rights-based and justice-oriented language. Through a comparative analysis of water strategies from diverse geopolitical and socio-economic contexts, this study categorises the different approaches to terminology: a) explicit use of human rights and justice language, b) implicit integration of human rights and justice principles, and c) complete omission of rights- and justice-based framing. A working hypothesis suggests that countries with explicit human rights language in water strategies tend to prioritise equitable access to water and may foster greater public accountability. Conversely, nations that exclude these terms often face challenges in promoting equity and inclusivity in water access, potentially marginalising vulnerable communities. Factors influencing terminology choices include political sensitivities, enforcement capacities, and alignment with international frameworks like the various UN conventions on human rights, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the EU Water Directive. This study underscores the significance of terminology in shaping water policy effectiveness and advocates for integrating human rights language to enhance both national and global water justice outcomes. The article concludes with recommendations for policymakers to adopt rights-based language as a step toward more inclusive, just, and effective water governance.