Regulate project at international climate‑change conference in Croatia

Keynote by Robert Lütkemeier on telecoupled waters

On 29 May 2025, the Regulate project was prominently represented at the international conference Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change: Understanding Impacts and Vulnerabilities in Rijeka, Croatia. In his keynote, “Telecoupled Waters: New spatial relationships via long‑distance water transfers, tourist movements and international trade,” Robert explored how cross‑boundary processes reshape local water balances and management challenges.

Drawing on case studies from Germany and Croatia, Robert applied the telecoupling framework to three types:

• Long‑distance water transfers
  can offset regional deficits and surpluses but also introduce new risks to water security.
• Tourist‑driven water demand
  often intensifies consumption in already water‑stressed destinations.
• Virtual water embedded in trade
  links consumer choices to groundwater stress in irrigation‑dependent exporting regions. Using water‑use statistics, groundwater‑recharge estimates and trade data, Robert showed that telecouplings generate both benefits and vulnerabilities. He stressed that effective, adaptive water governance must account for these long‑distance interactions, identify leverage points for intervention, and integrate them into holistic resilience strategies.

For further details, visit the official conference-site