Navigating water shortage in the agricultural landscape of Southern Öland

Abstract

This paper explores how actors involved in managing the UNESCO World Heritage site of Southern Öland respond to water shortages, manifested in declining groundwater levels and recurring droughts over the past decade. Drawing on interviews with farmers and officials engaged in water management and heritage preservation, the study examines how these actors experience and understand environmental change. Water scarcity is widely acknowledged as a defining feature of the landscape of the island, yet it is now unfolding with an intensity that challenges established ways of managing the agriculture and consequently the heritage. The paper investigates how the dynamics of preservation and change unfold in practice, highlighting the challenges, aspirations, and perspectives of the interviewed stakeholders.