Data exchange in transboundary waters is widely viewed as fundamental to advancing cooperative water management and now features in the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6. Nonetheless, the degree to which data are practically shared in transboundary waters is not wellunderstood. To gauge levels of data sharing practice in international watercourses, an assessment framework was developed and applied in 25 international river basins. The framework captures the degree to which a set of data parameters (e.g. river flow, groundwater level, surface water abstraction, and water quality) are exchanged among countries. Results reveal that the proportion of surveyed basins that exchange at least some water data is reasonable. Nonetheless, the breadth of such data exchange is often limited with less than half of surveyed basins confirming exchange on presumably key parameters such as water quality, water abstraction and groundwater levels. Further, frequency of data exchange is not always regular; with key parameters often exchanged in an ad hoc fashion. Ultimately, this paper points to areas where data exchange can be improved, and provides guidance on how indicators utilized in global assessment frameworks such at the SDGs can enhance granularity in order to motivate this improvement.
A review of global trends in water governance reveals a paradigm dominated by political and institutional change which becomes increasingly aligned with global shifts towards sustainability and also a rapid decline in the hydraulic mission. Closely aligned to these trends, but distinct in its own trajectory, South Africa’s water governance dynamics have evolved through a period of considerable socio-political change marked by inequitable resource allocation and water scarcity. This paper presents the results of a review of water governance research and development (R&D) trends in South Africa, aimed at informing the national funding agency – the Water Research Commission (WRC) – in its agenda-setting process for future water governance research. Through a bibliometric analysis, a data-mining exercise, and stakeholder consultations, this paper distils four key areas of focus for the future of water governance research in South Africa: (i) that future water governance research needs to be more needs-based, solution-oriented and embedded within real-life contexts; (ii) the need for a paradigm shift in water governance research to a constructive, adaptive and rapid response research agenda in an environment of increasing change and uncertainty; (iii) the need for the enabling environment to be strengthened, including acknowledgement of the role of individuals as agents of change, and the role of WRC in establishing a community of practice for water governance experts that can respond to issues with agility; and (iv) a consolidation of fragmented project-based knowledge to a programmatic approach that builds the pipeline of expertise in the water governance R&D domain.
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