Legal Implications of the Use of Big Data in the Transboundary Water Context

Abstract

This article examines the potential legal implications of the adoption and implementation of transboundary water agreements and international water conventions as a result of the emergence of ‘big data’. This digital technology is set to change the ways in which water data is collected and processed. Big data has been addressed by a few previous studies, which have focused primarily on information technology and environmental law. Using doctrinal and non-doctrinal legal research methods, this article will answer the following question: Are there legal implications for the use of big data in the transboundary water context? The article will illuminate this question as a political issue that may result in different scenarios, with the possibility that all nations decide to use big data in the transboundary water context proposed as the most likely outcome. As a result, this article will call for new treaty provisions to address technological developments and big data’s inclusion in international water agreements and transboundary water treaties.