Assessing the role of hydrological evidence in water resources governance

Rapid progress in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has caused, and is partly reflected by, the exponentially increasing generation of data across many scientific disciplines, including hydrology and water resources. However, despite new and emerging sensing technologies, the hydrological evidence on which management and broader governance decisions are based is often still very limited. This issue is especially pronounced in lower- and middle-income countries, where data are scarce but where the strain on water resources is often already very high and/or rapidly increasing. Applying Ostrom's common-pool resource governance principles to water resources entails strong and often implicit assumptions about the role of data and evidence in such systems. However, this ignores the underlying corollary that on one hand power relations, user characteristics, system arrangements and on the other hand technological advances modulate the relationship between data and governance, and hence need to be considered. We review the traditional role of data in the governance of water resources systems. Examining the case of water allocations in Quito, Ecuador, we then develop a set of concrete criteria to inform considerations about how to ensure the applicability of Ostrom's principles in a 21^st century context. By highlighting the variable impact of data availability, these criteria have the potential to redefine common assumptions about how to achieve water security in a developmental context.