The newest issue of Baltic Rim Economies (4/2025) examines how climate change, pollution, technological change and growing competition for freshwater are transforming water governance in Europe and the Baltic Sea region. With contributions from leading policymakers, researchers and practitioners, the issue highlights both the urgency of the water crisis and the emerging solutions that can strengthen resilience across societies.
Europe faces accelerating water stress
According to Leena Ylä-Mononen, Executive Director of the European Environment Agency, Europe’s water resources are already under severe pressure: 34% of EU territory experienced water scarcity in 2022, and only 3% of surface waters achieve good chemical status, largely due to long-lived pollutants such as mercury and brominated flame retardants. The EU’s new Water Resilience Strategy calls for a 10% improvement in water efficiency by 2030, prioritising reduced abstraction, greater reuse and stronger governance.
Leena Ylä-Mononen: Water resilience in Europe and the Baltic Sea region
Hydrological resilience and AI: A new era of water management
Francesco Granata (University of Cassino and Southern Lazio) writes that hydrological systems are now exposed to unprecedented climatic variability. Building resilience requires not only infrastructure but anticipatory governance, ecosystem restoration and advanced digital tools.
Artificial intelligence is emerging as a key enabler: by integrating satellite data, hydrological observations and climate projections, AI can enhance drought and flood forecasting and support adaptive decision-making. As Granata notes, hydrological resilience is increasingly tied to economic stability, food security and geopolitical cooperation.
Integrating water into urban planning
Cities are at the frontline of water-related challenges. Professor Christopher Chesterfield (Monash Sustainable Development Institute) argues that water management and urban planning remain too often siloed, resulting in inefficiencies and missed opportunities.
Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) must be embedded into planning systems — from strategic vision to zoning and implementation — to ensure liveable, climate-ready cities. Effective coordination, shared data and boundary-spanning leadership are essential to making water-sensitive urban development a reality.
Christopher Chesterfield: Weaving water into urban planning for liveable cities
Cities at a turning point
Iqtiar Md Siddique (University of Texas) highlights that Baltic cities face simultaneous threats: droughts, sudden downpours, aging infrastructure and rising pollution loads. Digital twins, real-time sensors and circular water systems offer pathways to resilient urban water services, but require skills, investment and coherent governance. Collaboration across borders can accelerate adoption of these solutions.
Iqtiar Md Siddique: Baltic cities face a water turning point
Finland: water resilience as a security issue
Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Sari Multala emphasises that water resilience is a cornerstone of a sustainable and secure society. The impacts of climate change challenge infrastructure, ecosystems and water services, making adaptation measures increasingly essential. From Finland’s perspective, water resilience above all means ensuring the reliability of water supply under all circumstances, including crises.
Multala also highlights the importance of water efficiency. The EU’s goal to improve water efficiency by 10% by 2030 requires concrete action, particularly in agriculture and industry. Multala concludes by stressing that clean water is a shared legacy that must be safeguarded: “Without clean water, we cannot manage.”
Sari Multala: Water resilience – the cornerstone of a sustainable future
Reservoirs in a changing climate and energy system
Professor Elena Toth (University of Bologna) highlights that climate change, declining water availability and the transformation of energy systems require a fundamental reassessment of how reservoirs and water storage systems are managed. Growing competition for water, together with evolving user and ecosystem needs, makes traditional operating practices insufficient. Toth emphasises that reducing water consumption alone is not enough; societies must also expand water storage capacity and optimise the operation of existing reservoirs. Structures that were originally designed for single purposes now function as multi-use systems that must simultaneously support drinking water supply, agriculture, industry, energy production, flood protection and ecosystem health.
Meeting future needs requires updated management principles, stronger consideration of ecological impacts and modelling approaches that account for diverse climate and operational scenarios. Toth stresses that sustainable, multi-purpose reservoir management is a key component of water resilience.
Elena Toth: Reservoir management for water resilience and renewables generations
The polluter-pays principle remains essential
Gari Villa-Landa Sokolova (EurEau) emphasises in her article that the polluter-pays principle remains a fundamental pillar of water protection, yet its practical implementation is often insufficient. She argues that controlling pollution at its source is the most effective long-term solution, and that stronger regulation and the reduction of harmful substances are essential to decreasing environmental pressures. Sokolova calls for a structural shift in which environmental impacts are taken into account already in product design and material choices.
Gari Villa-Landa Sokolova: Polluter-pays principle: cornerstone for sustainable water management
A comprehensive overview of water resilience
With contributions from more than 30 experts, this issue offers a comprehensive overview of current themes in sustainable water management. The articles examine water resilience from multiple angles, including governance, urban development, civil preparedness, digital innovation, nature-based solutions, industrial water use and the specific challenges facing the Baltic Sea region.
Read the full publication: Baltic Rim Economies 4/2025 – Sustainable water management
