Emma Enström

My PhD project aim to study Swedish water resource policy. The research focus on catchment areas, starting with Kävlinge and Lagan.

About me:

I have a MSc in Strategic Environmental Science from Lund University. I worked as a laboratory engineer focusing on sewage before deciding to start an Industrial PhD in water resource policy at Centre for Environmental and Climate Science (CEC) and Sweden Water Research (SWR).

My research:

Water is essential for life and societies for drinking water, sanitation, and food. The last year's climate-related weather events such as extreme flooding, and drought have led to the valuing and recognition of water and its limits. Water as a resource has a range of interested stakeholders beyond administrative borders, such as agricultural, industry, drinking water production, hydropower as well as its intrinsic value. Therefore, it is important to secure water irrespective of administrative borders.

In addition to this, a lack of coordination between local, regional and national policy and management levels demands broad attention from policy-makers, participation from stakeholders as well as relevant and functional legislation to create organisational solutions for functional water management cooperation.

My research will study water resource policy for cooperation in catchment areas. The aim of the project is to investigate challenges and opportunities in Swedish water resource policy as well as develop ideas for future resource policy. The project will implement this through mapping of stakeholders and their cooperation, policy instruments as well as case studies nationally and internationally. The project will proceed by looking at case studies in the catchment areas of Kävlinge and Lagan.