1st Meeting, Global Workshop on the Use of New Technologies and Innovations for Monitoring, Assessment and Data-sharing.

Global Workshop on the Use of New Technologies and Innovations for Monitoring, Assessment and Data-sharing in Transboundary Basins.

In an era of rapid technological advancements and growing water-related challenges, harnessing new technologies and innovative approaches for monitoring, assessment and data-sharing offers unprecedented opportunities in transboundary basins. In this context, "new technologies and innovations" can be understood broadly to include advanced conventional monitoring methods; analytical enablers such as artificial intelligence and machine learning; integrative tools, such as digital twins; and innovative approaches, such as citizen science, that enhance transparency and stakeholder engagement.

While new technologies and innovations can improve the availability, quality and relevance of water data for evidence-based decision-making, their uptake in transboundary basins depends on enabling conditions, such as trust, political will and institutional cooperation. Ensuring this also requires improved methodologies, harmonized standards and institutional arrangements to facilitate joint monitoring, assessment and data-sharing. At the same time, new technologies and innovations may introduce financial, technical or resource‑related challenges that need to be jointly understood and addressed to ensure sustainability and shared benefits for all riparian countries.

Integration of new technologies into water policy and practice is uneven across regions, underscoring the need for capacity building, experience-sharing and partnerships that can help match diverse needs with appropriate technological solutions. Embedding technological developments and innovations within basin‑wide and integrated approaches—such as Source‑to‑Sea, the Water‑Food‑Energy‑Ecosystems Nexus or Conjunctive Water Management—and anchoring them in strong legal and institutional cooperation frameworks or agreements can help ensure that monitoring and data‑sharing systems function coherently and sustainably across hydrological and political boundaries.

OBJECTIVES

The overall objective of the workshop is to identify how new technologies and innovations for monitoring, assessment and data‑sharing can meaningfully enhance transboundary water cooperation.

Specific objectives:

Discuss priority needs and gaps for monitoring, assessment and data-sharing in transboundary basins, building on SDG Indicator 6.5.2 reporting, and assess where new technologies and innovations can address them.
Showcase practical and scalable examples of the use of new technologies and innovative approaches in shared basins, highlighting lessons learned and conditions for successful implementation.
Examine the enabling environment for technology uptake, focusing on governance, trust-building, financial support and science-policy dialogue, and identify barriers and opportunities to strengthen adoption.
Strengthen cooperation and partnerships among countries, basin organizations, research institutions, academia, technology providers and civil society, while considering the role of the Water Convention as an enabler for innovation and technology uptake.
Contribute to global dialogue on transboundary water cooperation and innovation, feeding into key international processes, including the 2026 UN Water Conference.1st Meeting, Global Workshop on the Use of New Technologies and Innovations for Monitoring, Assessment and Data-sharing

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