Project partners: Region Gotland, Gotland County Administrative Board, Lantmännen, IVL, SLU, AgTech/LiU, SMHI, RISE, SLU property Hallfreda, Östra Gotlands vattenråd, Forum Östersjön, Sportfiskarna, Gotlands Havsmiljöförening, Hushållningssällskapet Konsult, Mälarens Vattenvårdsförbund, GLM Gård AB, Mickelgårds AB, Havor Lantbruk AB, Ryftes Grönsaker AB, Ahlbys Lantbruk AB, Widegrens Gård AB, Birch Bransch Ranch AB, Stefan Virgins Lantbruk, Skags gård AB, Stora Tollby
Grant: 13.5 million SEK
Project duration: 2025-11-30 to 2028-11-29
Contact person: Susanne Welin-Berger
Purpose and objectives
Climate change is increasing the risk of drought in many parts of Sweden, and its impact on the environment, food production and local development is significant. Sweden needs to learn from the rest of the world and develop methods to manage seasonal water shortages based on our conditions. On Gotland, the water supply is already very vulnerable and the need to develop water management in the cultivated landscape is particularly great.
The transition lab brings together Swedish actors around the challenge of transitioning to sustainable water management in arid agricultural landscapes with learning from other countries and with Gotland as an innovation area. The lab works to solve concrete water challenges on Gotland, but aims to disseminate knowledge to all parts of Sweden with similar challenges. Fully established, the lab involves actors in water and agricultural technology, advice and learning in agriculture and cultivation, as well as land drainage companies, all of which are important need owners and carriers of the change required. It also involves authorities that plan, decide and advise on water, associations for water management and environmental and fisheries management, and researchers in both technical/scientific and social science fields. International learning is supported by strategic collaborations with foreign researchers and experts via a research council.
Expected impacts and results
Several of the challenges for the transition to sustainable water management in dry agricultural landscapes on Gotland will remain in year 3, but the concrete efforts, together with broader collaboration, have then had a clear impact on the public administrations’ development plans and created more good examples of water solutions in terms of informatics, technology and policy that can be taken further outside Gotland.
Planned approach and implementation
The transition lab is a collaborative arena for learning, knowledge sharing and portfolio development. The lab develops, tests and scales up innovative concrete solutions within three development journeys: local water informatics – storage and household water in agriculture – government dialogue and regulations for water management adapted to water availability.
The text on this page was written by the project team. The content has not been reviewed by our editors.
Goals and tasks
- Resilient supply and management of water in society
- Adapt society to flooding and drought
