Politti et al. (2026) Review and reframing of the operationalisation of the water planetary boundary for river basin planning

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Environmental Research Letters
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-09-17
• Authors: Emilio Politti, Silvia Artuso, Elisa Calamita, Andrea Francesco Castelletti, Katarina A. Cetinić, Sami Domisch, Matteo Giuliani, Héctor Macián Sorribes, Mikhail M Smilovic, Jaime García Márquez, Daniel Odermatt, Manuel Pulido-Velázquez, Sandra Ricart, Jennie C. Steyaert, Sylvia Tramberend, Niko Wanders, Wei Xia, Taher Kahil
• DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/aea919

Research Groups

• Department of Hydrology, University of Stockholm
• Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
• International Water Management Institute (IWMI)

Short Summary

This study proposes a novel framework to operationalize the Water Planetary Boundary principles at the basin scale by integrating socio-ecological functions into water boundary assessment. The framework prioritizes Earth's stability and social equity.

Objective

• Develop an adaptable framework for operationalizing the Water Planetary Boundary principles at the basin level, considering both ecological and social aspects.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Basin-scale (catchment or river basin)
• Temporal Scale: Holocene-like state (preserving water functions critical to ecosystem services)

Methodology and Data

• Models used: None mentioned; framework proposed based on literature review and conceptualization.
• Data sources: Global datasets, sub-global case studies

Main Results

• The proposed framework integrates socio-ecological functions into basin-scale water boundary assessment, prioritizing Earth's stability within a Holocene-like state and social equity.
• The framework enhances understanding of human activities' impact on the water cycle and highlights critical issues to maintain the water system within a Holocene-like state.

Contributions

• Original contribution: proposing an adaptable framework for operationalizing Water Planetary Boundary principles at the basin scale, considering both ecological and social aspects.
• Fills gap in existing research by providing a comprehensive basin-scale approach and actionable implementation strategies.

Funding

• This study was supported by the Swedish Research Council (grant number 2017-05134) and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) (grant number 016.200.308).

Citation

@article{Politti2026Review,
  author = {Politti, Emilio and Artuso, Silvia and Calamita, Elisa and Castelletti, Andrea Francesco and Cetinić, Katarina A. and Domisch, Sami and Giuliani, Matteo and Sorribes, Héctor Macián and Smilovic, Mikhail M and Márquez, Jaime García and Odermatt, Daniel and Pulido-Velázquez, Manuel and Ricart, Sandra and Steyaert, Jennie C. and Tramberend, Sylvia and Wanders, Niko and Xia, Wei and Kahil, Taher},
  title = {Review and reframing of the operationalisation of the water planetary boundary for river basin planning},
  journal = {Environmental Research Letters},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1088/1748-9326/aea919},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aea919}
}