Data-sharing and decision support system to improve governance in transboundary waters in the La Plata River basin

ABSTRACT

Since 2016, the Intergovernmental Coordinating Committee of the La Plata Basin Countries has developed and implemented a decision support system (DSS) aimed at articulating, processing and integrating information. This system facilitates the availability of information to institutions and the public, supporting decision-making for integrated water resources management. Through document analysis and a bibliographical review, this technical note scrutinizes the DSS, emphasizing its pivotal role in La Plata governance. We contend that effective and efficient data-sharing should be considered a key goal in transboundary water governance, fostering collaborative regional initiatives for the sustainable management of transboundary water resources.

KEYWORDS:

• Decision support system
• water management
• transboundary waters
• La Plata River basin
• South America

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Transboundary waters conflicts can be related to the use of water resources (agriculture, industries and mines, energy generation, domestic water use, environmental concerns and pollution), non-coordinated planning of agriculture and hydropower developments, different political motivation among riparian countries, lack of transparency, competition for the available water resources, lack of net benefits, among other causes.

2. Transboundary water cooperations are hybrid and multi-scalar processes that involve riparian states, international treaties and organizations created for the management and governance of transboundary waters at different levels (from local to international, passing through national and regional; Espindola & Leite, 2021).

3. According to Schmeier (2015), RBOs are a key feature of transboundary water resources governance. Their organizational structure and mechanisms employed may vary, but their main task is to institutionalize river basin governance, solve water-related problems and strengthen collaboration among riparian states.

4. The Strategic Action Program is one of the key strategic documents related to transboundary water management and governance. It resonates the collaborative effort of the basin countries through their input into direct linkages between national priorities and shared transboundary concerns, which are usually defined in a transboundary diagnostic analysis.

Additional information

Funding

Isabela Battistello Espíndola thanks the São Paulo Research Foundation (Fapesp), which financed the research project related to process number 2017/17997-9. The opinions, hypotheses, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the vision of Fapesp.