Towards a revised planetary boundary for consumptive freshwater use: role of environmental flow requirements

The authors argue that accounting for aquatic ecosystem needs results in a lower planetary boundary for freshwater consumption than previously estimated, suggesting a value of approximately 2800 km3 yr−1 compared to the earlier 4000 km3 yr−1.

• Integrating environmental flow requirements into a spatially explicit analysis results in a lower planetary boundary for freshwater (PB-Water) of approximately 2800 km3 yr−1, with an uncertainty range between 1100 and 4500 km3 yr−1. This is lower than the previous top-down estimate of 4000 km3 yr−1 (range 4000–6000 km3 yr−1).
• With current blue water consumption exceeding 1700 km3 yr−1, the planetary boundary for freshwater is being approached quickly, necessitating the creation of opportunities to stay within this limit.
• The authors state that the quantification of the freshwater planetary boundary requires an analysis of tradeoffs with other planetary boundaries, specifically those related to climate change and land use.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2013). Towards a revised planetary boundary for consumptive freshwater use: role of environmental flow requirements. https://www.sei.org/publications/towards-a-revised-planetary-boundary-for-consumptive-freshwater-use-role-of-environmental-flow-requirements/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Towards a revised planetary boundary for consumptive freshwater use: role of environmental flow requirements. 2013. https://www.sei.org/publications/towards-a-revised-planetary-boundary-for-consumptive-freshwater-use-role-of-environmental-flow-requirements/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Towards a revised planetary boundary for consumptive freshwater use: role of environmental flow requirements |date=9 December 2013 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/towards-a-revised-planetary-boundary-for-consumptive-freshwater-use-role-of-environmental-flow-requirements/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2013towards, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Towards a revised planetary boundary for consumptive freshwater use: role of environmental flow requirements}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2013}, month = dec, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/towards-a-revised-planetary-boundary-for-consumptive-freshwater-use-role-of-environmental-flow-requirements/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }