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Due to the pressure of agriculture runoff and leaching pose on water resources, sustainable water management measures are being developed based on stakeholder and expert opinions from different sectors and disciplines. This requires a better common understanding of the term ‘ sustainability’ to avoid misunderstandings, potential conflicts, and operational challenges amongst the actors. This research used the consensus-building Delphi survey method to develop a common definition of ‘sustainability in agricultural water management’ (SAWM) across an interdisciplinary group of actors involved in a Horizon 2020 European Union-funded Research and Innovation Action. Care was taken to assess the 26 experts’ perspectives, covering all three dimensions of sustainability: environmental, economic, and social. Regardless of the dimensions of sustainability, this study found ‘climate change, water quality, water availability, stakeholder participation, capacity building, subsidies, and incentives’ as major key concepts. These key concepts were considered as the input for constructing the definition of sustainability for multi/interdisciplinary project settings. The results serve as the basis for clear communication between the involved actors and act as the foundation for the project's definition of ‘sustainability’. One recommendation to be drawn from this work for broader policy formulation for SAWM in Europe is to prioritize farmer needs and focus on environmental sustainability.

<p>Water scarcity is a serious socio-environmental challenge for sustainable development which is recognized as a potential cause of social conflict within and between countries. It is expected to intensify due to increasing water demands from increasing populations, rapid urbanization, industrialization, and climate changes. With predictions of dire global water scarcity, attention is turning to Unconventional Water Resources (UWRs) which are considered as supplementary water resources that need specialized processes to be used as water supply. The literature encompasses a vast number of studies on various UWRs and their usefulness in certain environmental and/or socio-economic contexts. Considering the increasing importance of UWRs in the global push for water security, the current study intends to offer a nuanced understanding of the existing research on UWRs by summarizing the key concepts in the literature. The number of articles published on UWRs have increased significantly over time and most publications were authored from researchers based in the USA or China, India, Iran, and Spain. Here, twelve general types of UWRs including fog, dew, rainwater harvesting, and cloud seeding as Atmospheric Unconventional Water (AUW); artificial recharge, fossil water as Unconventional Ground Water (UGW); iceberg water and virtual water as Transferred Unconventional Water (TUW), and wastewater, desalinated water, and agricultural drainage water as Processed Unconventional Water (PUW), were used to assess their global distribution, showing that climatic conditions are the main driver for the application of certain UWRs. Overall, the literature review demonstrated that, even though UWRs provide promising possibilities for overcoming water scarcity, current knowledge is patchy and points towards UWRs being, for the most part, limited in scope and applicability due to geographic, climatic, economic, and political constraints. Future studies focusing on improved quantitative documentation and demonstration of the physical and socio-economic potential of various UWRs could help in strengthening the case for some, if not all, UWRs as avenues for the sustainable provision of water.</p><p><strong>Keywords:</strong> Water scarcity;<strong> </strong>UWRs; distribution maps; literature review</p>

<p>Particularly in the Nordic region, water excess and shortage (drought) are becoming more frequent phenomena that challenge the development of agriculture and crop production. Identification of appropriate water management strategies is essential (i) to ensure sustainable water resources management for crop production and the functioning of healthy ecosystems; and (ii) to improve resilience to hydrological extremes. Integrated hydrological models offer that potential through understanding and forecasting of hydrological systems under anthropogenic and climatic influences, and providing information for improved decision-making. This study aims to develop a decision support instrument based on integrated hydrological modelling to identify appropriate management solutions and improve field- and catchment-scale water management in Nordic agriculture. The study area is Tyrnävä catchment, located in the northern part of Finland near Oulu city. Initially, the available hydro-climatological and hydrogeological data of the Tyrnävä catchment are characterized in detail. Then the hydrogeological parameters of the model are identified based on existing hydrogeological, climatic and remotely sensed data and their spatial, temporal and vertical variability. Next, a regional integrated surface-subsurface hydrological model is set up using HydroGeosphere. After successful calibration and validation using observed groundwater level, river discharge and soil moisture data, the model will be used in implementing and evaluating different management strategies (e.g., different irrigation options during droughts and controlled drainage management) for the future and their influence on the surface and groundwater systems. Uncertainty arising from different sources will be quantified using the Integrated Bayesian Multi-model Uncertainty Estimation Framework with the support of a supercomputer to improve the reliability and accuracy of the decision support instrument. Additionally, stakeholders’ involvement through local workshops is ensured throughout the modelling study, from the beginning to obtain reliable and useful decision support. Finally, based on these results, informed decisions regarding the appropriate water management can be made, which is important for sustainable water resources management for crop production and the functioning of healthy ecosystems particularly in Nordic agriculture.</p>

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