Sustainable Water Management Under Climate Change: Advances in Modeling and Decision-Support
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Water Management".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 26 November 2026 | Viewed by 4
Special Issue Editor
Interests: hydrological modelling; water management; climate scenarios; management scenarios
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Climate change is intensifying the pressure being placed on water resources, with growing impacts on ecosystems, food production, energy systems, and human well-being. Droughts, floods, salinization, and declining groundwater reserves are no longer future risks, but current realities in many regions of the world. Ensuring sustainability under these conditions requires adaptation strategies that are informed by robust scientific tools and that balance ecological integrity, economic viability, and social equity.
Modeling is a cornerstone in this process, offering the capacity to translate climate projections into water-related risks, assess the long-term impacts of management decisions, and test adaptation pathways before implementation. Beyond simulating hydrological and hydrogeological processes, models that support sustainable development are increasingly used to evaluate integrated solutions, such as nature-based strategies, demand management, or innovative governance arrangements.
The aim of this Special Issue is to highlight advances in modeling approaches that contribute to climate change adaptation while strengthening the sustainability of water resource systems. We encourage contributions that combine physical and data-driven models, integrate uncertainty and resilience concepts, and explicitly connect water management with societal, ecological, and economic dimensions. Studies that link modeling to Sustainable Development Goals (particularly SDG 6, SDG 13, and SDG 15) and that demonstrate real-world applications in planning, governance, and policy design are particularly welcome.
Suggested themes include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Climate-informed modeling for sustainable water management;• Assessing adaptation strategies (nature-based, technological, and governance-driven);
• Linking hydrological models with socio-economic and ecological dimensions;
• Risk, resilience, and uncertainty in climate–water interactions;
• Decision-support tools for sustainable policies and community adaptation.
We welcome both original research articles and reviews.
Dr. Carina Almeida
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- water management
- climate change
- hydrological modeling
- decision-support systems
- sustainability
- resilience and uncertainty analysis
- nature-based solutions
- extreme events
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
