How can societies be built to withstand the extremes of both heavy rain and severe drought? In Lund Municipality’s ARCADIA project lab, this challenge is met with a forward-thinking approach that views water not merely as a problem, but as a valuable resource to be managed wisely. By fostering collaboration between urban and rural areas, and harnessing nature-based solutions, Lund is pioneering new insights and practical paths toward climate resilience.
Understanding climate extremes
Lund’s project manager for climate adaptation, Angelica Howard, highlights the dual nature of the climate challenge: “We face a double problem – a wetter and a drier climate – that requires investment in solutions capable of handling both extremes.” This means preparing for intense rainfall events as well as prolonged water scarcity. The Region of Skåne, where Lund is located, is especially vulnerable due to a historic loss of about 90% of its wetlands over the past 200 years from agricultural drainage. These wetlands once helped retain water during rains and preserve moisture in dry periods, so their loss severely diminishes the landscape’s natural resilience.
Nature-based Solutions for a resilient landscape
To build back this resilience, a variety of nature-based solutions are being explored, including rainwater harvesting, irrigation wetlands, dams, two-stage ditches, and blue-green corridors. Each plays a role in restoring the landscape’s capacity to manage water more effectively, reducing flood risks, and supporting water availability during droughts.
Fostering collaboration across city and countryside
ARCADIA serves as a collaborative platform bridging urban climate adaptation efforts with rural water management initiatives. Lund’s urban planning team works to make the city climate-adapted, while the Kävlingeån Water Council focuses on resilience in the countryside. Kristina Fontell, environmental strategist, notes that previously there was little connection between municipal master planning and the water council’s work, which centered mostly on urban areas.
Now, through Water Dialogue 2.0, water management is transitioning from fragmented efforts to a coordinated, long-term, knowledge-based approach across the entire Kävlingeån catchment area. Christoffer Bonthron, Lund’s water coordinator, emphasizes the water councils’ unique role in aligning practical work to secure good water quality and quantities in both rural and urban settings.
Rethinking the city as part of the water cycle
An important urban question in the project is how to design attractive, sustainable cities that preserve cultural heritage while adapting to climate change. Axel Sahlin, Lund’s rainwater flood strategist, works within this framework in the KUBIK project, collaborating through ARCADIA. The dominance of hard surfaces in cities intensifies extreme weather impacts, such as flooding and heat stress, by hindering water absorption and creating heat traps.
Angelica Howard advocates for a paradigm shift: “We must see the city as part of a larger water catchment area, recognizing water both as a vital resource and a natural cooling mechanism.” This holistic thinking considers upstream and downstream interactions, promoting integrated water flow management that transcends municipal boundaries.
Building a future-proof society through collaboration
The success of these efforts depends on coordination and joint financing among key actors. Lund’s approach emphasizes that investing in nature-based solutions not only supports climate adaptation but also strengthens society’s robustness against future challenges.
Co-Innovation Lab 3 in Skåne
Lund Municipality is actively engaging in landowner dialogues, partnerships with water boards, financing strategies, and inter-municipal policy development to promote nature-based solutions.
Lund is also working to establish a new biosphere reserve called Storkriket in collaboration with Sjöbo and Eslöv municipalities. This area includes a mosaic of natural habitats, agricultural lands, urban areas, and is home to 22% of Sweden’s threatened species.
Lund’s ARCADIA lab exemplifies how a comprehensive, inclusive, and innovative approach to water management can pave the way toward resilient cities and countrysides in a changing climate.