Abstract for: Water management on a summer island

The island of Fårö is one of the most arid regions in Scandinavia. Tourism is the most important industry and during the summer the 550 island inhabitants are joined by about 300 000 visitors and part-time residents. The result is significant stress on the limited water resources and, since 2005, water scarcity is a reoccurring problem every summer. Climate change, combined with socioeconomic growth, is expected to aggravate the problem even further and robust water management strategies are urgent. The aim of this project is to understand the key interactions between socioeconomic development and biophysical processes governing freshwater sufficiency on the island, to evaluate the effectiveness and robustness of the current water management strategies, identify potential pitfalls and policy improvement options to secure future water sufficiency.