Waterdrive findings reveal the need to adapt to climate change as part of future water management in the agricultural landscape. This finding has emerged from the priorities of farmers/landowners and from the priorities of municipalities and local governments. Their challenge with water management is clearly broader than nutrient management.

Waterdrive, therefore recommend Governments to identify the sensitive climate- and water hot-spot areas on national levels. The aim is to effectively steer resources and support towards the most sensitive and high-risk areas and thus improving participation and efficiency in program implementation.

The selection criteria need integrated cross-sector assessment and can include environmental pressures, food production intensity, climate risks, drought/flooding, particular values (local landscape, environment) and socio-economic factors. Waterdrive recommends Government to launch a specific support program towards these identified climate- and water sensitive areas.

Waterdrive findings reveal a weak interest from the farming/landowner community to join agri-environment programs. The findings indicate that this is not due to poor interest from farmers as most farmers have a strong motivation and interest for nature and water. The low interest is more emerging from the non-motivating incentives’ structure like financial compensation and/or contracts and distrust on a systems level. 

Waterdrive therefore, recommends Governments to oversee and up-date the incentives’ structure especially in the Climate- and Water Hot Spot Areas to ensure engagement and commitment from the farmers and landowners side. Farmers and landowners can take a more leading role if the incentives structure and motivational factors are right, which has been demonstrated in some case areas around the Baltic. The farmer’s own interest, farmers’ umbrella organizations and advisory services also have an important role to advice farmers to take a more leading role. 

Waterdrive findings reveal a significant lack of capacities and competencies to support a transition towards more holistic water and landscape management. Waterdrive has identified the need to expand the existing agricultural advisory services with competencies in integrated water management. 

Waterdrive recommends governments to invest into new services like catchment officers or similar water management experts independently either they are employed by agricultural advisory services, municipalities or related organizations. The new services discussed include a combination of expertise, both in water management like “catchment officers” and “water legislation experts”. Such services form a prerequisite to support the transition and secure the involvement of local actors.

Waterdrive findings reveal the important role of catchment initiatives and local cross-sector cooperation. All such catchment initiatives are important, however, the local conditions vary substantially between countries. Therefore, the organization and implementation will and should be different between countries. Additionally, what is innovative or understood as non-innovative differs between countries. 

However, emphasizing catchment initiatives involving innovation and living labs from the local context will be one of the most important change drivers for next generation programs. Present programs are too bureaucratic and not flexible enough to support innovation and development on the local scale. Waterdrive recommends governments to open flexible financial mechanisms to support catchment initiatives.

Waterdrive recommends supporting catchment initiatives dependent on high risk or low risk areas. Waterdrive recommends a financial mechanism especially targeted to facilitate cooperation between actors and for hiring of expert support and consultancy. 

Waterdrive findings have revealed substantial difficulties in development and financing of large-scale climate- and water infrastructure investments. This activity concerns international funding agencies and banks like NIB, NEFCO, EIB, EBRD and others to implement large-scale integrated water and landscape investments.

Support to field infrastructure investments like large drainage/water provision projects, lake and stream restoration projects including large wetland projects and also biogas plants and refineries. Flexibility is needed to allow added value through collaborative investments, support to coordination and planning. 

Such partnerships are needed to integrate water- and land use management in spatial planning and local action. Aiming to provide leadership and decision support to local actors in the transition process. Waterdrive results indicate the interest from local authorities and municipalities.

However, local authorities and municipalities in general lack capacities and resources to work with water management. Waterdrive recommends that local authorities, especially in the Climate and Water Hot-Spot Areas are provided with the resources, mandate and competence to undertake this task.

Such research programmes aim at supporting a balanced transition of food- and water management systems including other sectors e.g. financial and trade sectors to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Not only from a natural science point of view but also from a social science perspective.

Attempt to integrate more applied research as Integrated LIFE and Interreg Baltic Sea Region Program projects with research-oriented financiers as EU BONUS and HORIZON EUROPE. Seek to introduce the specific challenges of the Baltic Sea Region water management and suggest topics for the EU common research agenda.

Waterdrive findings indicate a gap in availability of digital decision support. The availability is quite OK on national- and regional levels but there is a lack of digital decisions support with maps etc. on the catchment or farm level scale.

Relevant local information with maps etc. for catchment officers, farmers and other local actors is highly requested. Most urgent is the need to better target implementation of agri-environment measures and doing the right thing at the right place. The environmental performance of e.g. wetlands will significantly vary depending on the site-specific conditions.

Agri-environmental conditions are special in the Baltic Sea Region due to the large drainage basin, quite intensive agriculture and long water exchange time of the Balti Sea. Continued co-operation is needed to further exchange experiences and leverage from the similarities and differences between countries towards more effective programs. Waterdrive findings indicate a good potential for further exchange of experiences between the countries and a closer cooperation between larger development projects and existing national and international bodies. Such interesting topics for continued cooperation are:

1. Providing frameworks and guidance for national water management commissions.  
2. Identifying and designating “Climate- and water hot-spot areas”.

1. New services for climate- and water management within agricultural advisory services and consultancy.