The Global Workshop on the Use of New Technologies and Innovations for Monitoring, Assessment and Data-sharing in Transboundary Basins was organized by the Water Convention secretariat (serviced by UNECE) in cooperation with Finland and Senegal, and in partnership with INBO, GEF IW:LEARN, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the United Nations Environment Programme Global Environment Monitoring System for Freshwater (UNEP GEMS/Water), the World Bank, and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
INBO played a central role as a key partner of UNECE in organizing this workshop. It actively contributed to valorizing the role of basin organizations in improving the monitoring of water resources in transboundary basins through the uptake of new technologies in combination in classic and robust in-situ monitoring techniques. This valorization was carried out alongside its members and partners, including:
- Nile Basin Initiative (NBI)
- Lake Tanganyika Authority (LTA)
- Scientific Information Center of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination in Central Asia (SIC ICWC)
- International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR)
- International Commission for the Protection of the Waters of Lake Geneva (CIPEL)
- Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO)
INBO’s direct contribution to the workshop sessions was particularly notable:
- Session 1 – “Priority needs & gaps in monitoring, assessment & data-sharing”
The INBO Secretariat intervened as moderator, guiding discussions that built on SDG Indicator 6.5.2 reporting to identify where new technologies can address critical gaps. - Session 2 – “Use of new technologies”
The INBO Secretariat also took the floor as a speaker, presenting concrete applications of satellite monitoring, digital modeling, and artificial intelligence—combined with in-situ monitoring—to demonstrate how these tools can transform transboundary water management. - Session 3 – “Enabling environment for data-sharing & technology uptake”
The INBO Secretariat once again served as moderator, steering conversations on governance, trust-building, financial support, and science-policy dialogue to identify both barriers and opportunities for stronger technology adoption.
Overall objective
The overall objective of the workshop was to identify how new technologies and innovations for monitoring, assessment and data-sharing can meaningfully enhance transboundary water cooperation.
Key themes addressed
In an era of rapid technological advancements and growing water-related challenges, harnessing new technologies and innovative approaches offers unprecedented opportunities in transboundary basins. The workshop explored how “new technologies and innovations”—understood broadly to include advanced conventional monitoring, artificial intelligence, machine learning, digital twins, and citizen science—can improve the availability, quality and relevance of water data for evidence-based decision-making.
Discussions also addressed the enabling conditions required for technology uptake, including trust, political will, institutional cooperation, harmonized standards, and improved methodologies. Particular attention was given to financial, technical and resource-related challenges that need to be jointly 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. Embedding technological developments 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 frameworks was highlighted as essential for coherent and sustainable monitoring and data-sharing systems across hydrological and political boundaries.
Recordings
Below are the links to access the different sessions of the meeting (one link per session):
Tuesday, 5 May 2026
- Morning sessions (opening, Session 1 “Priority needs and gaps in monitoring, assessment and data-sharing” and session 2.1 “Global experience-sharing on the use of new technologies and innovative approaches”)
- Afternoon session (session 2.2 “Global experience-sharing on the use of new technologies and innovative approaches”)
Wednesday, 6 May 2026
- Morning session (session 3 ” Enabling environment for data-sharing and technology uptake”)
- Afternoon session (session 4 ” Future directions and next steps” and closing)
All workshop documents are available here.