Big Data Analytics and Its Impact on Basin Water Agreements and International Water Law: A Study of the Ramotswa Aquifer

Abstract

Big data analytics is transforming the water sector at the national and international levels. Its potential impact on transboundary water resource governance is being assessed, for example, in the context of selected basins, including the Ramotswa aquifer shared between South Africa and Botswana. However, international water law and transboundary water agreements have yet to address its emergence. This monograph examines the impact of big data analytics on transboundary water governance from a legal perspective, using the Ramotswa aquifer as a case study. The authors argue that several features of the California Open and Transparent Water Data Act of 2016 and the New Mexico Water Data Act of 2019 can be applied in the context of transboundary water agreements.