From Vision to Action: Co-identifying a Safe Water Operating Space for the Danube basin

Artuso, S., Burek, P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6390-8487, Catania, C., García Márquez, J., Politti, E., Rotaru, S., Tramberend, S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7024-1075, Willaarts, B. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6589-1543, & Kahil, T. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7812-5271 (2025). From Vision to Action: Co-identifying a Safe Water Operating Space for the Danube basin. IIASA Report. Laxenburg, Austria: IIASA

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Abstract

As water-related challenges intensify under the combined pressures of climate change, land use change, and competing water demands, the SOS-Water project seeks to define a Safe Operating Space (SOS) for water resources that ensure sustainable, equitable, and resilient water systems. Supported by the European Union’s Horizon Europe Framework Programme, SOS-Water applies a transdisciplinary methodology—integrating modeling, monitoring, and participatory stakeholder engagement—across four diverse case studies in Europe and beyond, including the ecologically and socio-economically complex Danube River Basin.

The second stakeholder workshop for the Danube case study, held in Vienna on 5 March 2025, brought together key stakeholders from across the basin to evaluate and refine a common objectives framework and to explore scenario-based adaptation pathways. Building on the results of the first workshop, participants provided detailed feedback on indicators and thresholds representing various water functions—such as state, regulatory, productive, supply, and chemical carrier functions. Discussions highlighted the importance of robust data, contextual definitions, and system-specific thresholds, as well as cross-cutting challenges such as connectivity, habitat degradation, and water quality.
In the second half of the workshop, stakeholders examined three global socio-economic scenarios and co-designed adaptation strategies tailored to the Danube Basin. Using participatory mapping and structured discussion, they identified risks, opportunities, and viable adaptation options to maintain water system resilience across a range of plausible futures.
This workshop marks an important step in the co-creation of the Danube Basin’s Safe Operating Space by integrating scientific insights with local knowledge and stakeholder perspectives. The results will inform the refinement of indicators, threshold setting, and the development of scenario-specific adaptation pathways in the next phases of the SOS-Water project.

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