Editorial – Stockholm World Water Week 2016: 'Water for sustainable growth'

World Water Week in Stockholm is the largest annual global event on water. Under the theme of 'Water for sustainable growth', the 2016 Week brought together over 3200 individuals and around 330 convening organisations from 130 countries. Aiming to bridge the gaps between policy, science and practice, the week gathers water experts, practitioners, decision-makers, academics, business representatives and young professionals from around the world to network, exchange ideas, and develop solutions to water-related challenges. This themed section features a selection of papers from the 2016 Water Week. They illustrate the width of the theme and the importance of holistically addressing social, economic and environmental concerns in order to assure 'water for sustainable growth'. Water security, the availability of water for health, livelihoods, production and ecosystems at an acceptable level of risk to people, environments and economies, is key for water’s relation to sustainable growth.