In this study, we analyzed the effectiveness of a data visualization tool (dashboard) designed to provide insights to decision-makers about the vulnerability of water resources in the tri-national Upper Lempa River Basin (CARL) in the face of future climate and land use uncertainties. The effectiveness of the dashboard was assessed using three methods: (1) a user survey for evaluating dashboard clarity, completeness, and ease of use using seven parameters proposed by Stephen Few. The result of the survey overwhelmingly indicated a positive experience when interacting with the dashboard; (2) pre- and post-use tests were used to assess knowledge acquisition. The users’ correct answers increased by an average of 35%, and incorrect answers decreased by an average of 25% for questions assessing an understanding of water demands, the effects of climate change on the basin’s water security, land use trends, and the sub-basins with the highest vulnerability in the region; and, significantly, (3) user reports on insights drawn from their interaction with the dashboard. Users drew insights on the extent to which different regions will likely experience increased vulnerability regarding water resources and on strategies that could reduce this vulnerability. The key issues that need to be addressed to ensure that the dashboard fosters greater transparency and public participation in governance and is used by decision-makers to improve the management of water resources in this watershed are the following: (1) the incorporation of user feedback and the inclusion of adaptation strategies and their impacts on the dashboard; (2) the commitment and training of a local institution to host and maintain the dashboard and to make it available to the public; (3) the engagement of decision-makers from the three countries regarding the use of the dashboard to understand future uncertainties and the potential impact of adaptation strategies on performance metrics.

Water-related risks are increasing for resource-based livelihoods in the Southern Hemisphere and tropical regions. Water security as a concept has not been extensively reviewed and assessed for rural and urban livelihoods in this context. Although there are studies related to water security, the evidence and approaches to assess water security in transboundary basins are scarce, and several of these focus on defining levels of water security in terms of water scarcity, but does water availability alone guarantee water security? Historically, transboundary water resources management has been based on discourses of water security as a national security issue rather than a collaborative approach. This nationalistic use of water as a threat or power strategy weakens relations between nations and hinders cooperation. To meet these challenges, studies suggest the consolidation of transboundary institutions responsible for monitoring water conditions and serving as conflict mediators between riparian countries.An example of this transboundary framework is the tri-national cooperation process that has been developed for environmental management and sustainable development in the Upper Lempa River basin (ULRB), located in a key part of the Trifinio Region is made up of the countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The legal framework of the Treaty between these three countries, called “Agua Sin Fronteras – 2006-2024”, recognized the relevance of community participation in landscape management. However, the characterization of the biophysical variables and processes in each country in the ULRB is different in terms of data availability (i.e., space and time) and its homogeneity (i.e., kind of variable), which difficult to assess water security as a transboundary tool. To solve these weaknesses and gaps, we proposed a Water Security Index (WSI) with an approach to measure multiple indicators of hydrological risk relative to context specific water needs, including water availability, quality and sustainability. We followed the logic of the Pressure-State-Response (PSR) model to select indices that can be spatialized in different time steps. The WSI estimates the level of water security on a scale of 0 to 1, where 0 corresponds to the least favorable condition in terms of adequate quantities of water of acceptable quality for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and development socioeconomic; and 1 is the most favorable condition. The WSI was evaluated based on the results of a hydrological model (WEAP) under different climatic conditions (i.e., wet, dry, and normal). This evaluation allowed us to identify critical sub-basins (i.e., hot spots) for each condition and prioritized sub-basins with a high degree of vulnerability in all three conditions combined to support ecosystem services and human well-being. Through the analysis of the WSI index, 25 priority hot spots were identified as priority for intervention considering the resulting WSI in the combined conditions of which 11 are recurrent in the three conditions.

This report examines how the rights of rivers are being implemented in practice through comparative analysis of two case studies: the Turag River and all rivers in Bangladesh and the Atrato River in Colombia. The findings highlight that while legal recognition represents an important step, its transformative potential depends on broader political, institutional and epistemic conditions: 1. Legal recognition is a starting point, not a solution. Granting legal personhood to rivers introduces a significant normative shift but does not in itself ensure implementation or desired ecological outcomes. In both cases, a persistent gap remains between juridical recognition and its translation into enforceable actions and measurable environmental improvements. 2. Community agency and guardianship are critical. Inclusive and representative guardianship arrangements are central to translating rights into practice. The Colombian case shows that collective community participation can strengthen legitimacy and continuity of governance processes, while its absence, as in Bangladesh, constrains meaningful implementation. 3. Including different forms of knowledge determines transformative potential. Implementation of the rights of rivers is not only a legal or institutional challenge but also an epistemic one. Where governance systems fail to integrate local and relational knowledge, rights remain abstract and difficult to operationalize. In contrast, in Colombia, the partial inclusion of biocultural knowledge, which links ecological processes with the cultural practices, values and livelihoods of local communities, demonstrates pathways toward more grounded and context-sensitive governance. 4. Governance arrangements shape outcomes. The effectiveness of rights of rivers depends on governance design. Fragmented institutional mandates, unclear coordination mechanisms, and weak enforcement capacities limit implementation. Where governance remains misaligned across sectors and scales, legal recognition risks adding complexity without improving outcomes. 5. Structural conditions constrain transformation. The implementation of rights of rivers unfolds within existing governance systems shaped by historical and colonial legacies, anthropocentric paradigms and institutional fragmentation. Without deliberate efforts to address these structural constraints, the legal recognition of rivers as rights-bearing entities risks remaining a symbolic framework rather than becoming a transformative one.

El Bosque Seco Chiquitano juega un papel crucial en dos de las cuencas hídricas más grandes e importantes de Sudamérica: el Amazonas y el Paraguay-Plata. A pesar de los importantes valores naturales y culturales de esta ecorregión, el Bosque Seco Chiquitano enfrenta una gran vulnerabilidad y riesgo. En Santa Cruz, se está registrando un considerable aumento de la deforestación, la expansión de la frontera agrícola, el cambio de uso del suelo, los incendios forestales y los asentamientos no planificados, todo exacerbado por el cambio climático. Esto se relaciona con el sexto pilar de la Agenda Patriótica 2025, que busca la soberanía productiva a través de la diversificación y aumento de la producción agropecuaria, incluyendo la triplicación de la población ganadera. Durante una visita de campo en 2021, se identificó un problema derivado del mal uso de las tierras otorgadas por el Instituto Nacional de Reforma Agraria (INRA) para la expansión agrícola. Estas tierras están siendo usadas para la extracción de madera y, en caso de destinarse a fines agrícolas, requieren deforestación. La deforestación y los incendios forestales están degradando significativamente esta ecorregión. Entre 1986 y 2020, la deforestación aumentó un 640%, pasando de 1 millón a 6.4 millones de hectáreas debido a la expansión ganadera y agrícola. Si esta tendencia continúa, el Bosque Seco Chiquitano podría desaparecer por completo para 2050. Adicionalmente, el Bosque Seco Chiquitano enfrenta una creciente frecuencia e intensidad de incendios forestales, provocados tanto por causas naturales como antrópicas. El aumento de la temperatura debido al cambio climático y el uso del fuego para convertir bosques en áreas agrícolas (conocido como chaqueo) han generado incendios descontrolados que superan la capacidad de resistencia de los ecosistemas, afectando el agua, el aire y el suelo. En 2019, un incendio devastó más de 4 millones de hectáreas de bosque (Maillard et al., 2020), y en 2020 se registró una cantidad similar. Este reporte de SEI explora el potencial de herramientas de visualización y/o de modelación tal como Tableau, WEAP, y GEE para la gestión de recursos hídricos y forestales y los beneficios de una representación visual y comprensible de procesos complejos como los riesgos asociados al cambio climático.

This policy brief draws on research examining the implementation of rights of rivers in Bangladesh and Colombia (Rodríguez-Blásquez et al., 2026). While these cases differ in their legal and institutional design, they illustrate general challenges for countries that have adopted rights of rivers frameworks. Through a comparative analysis of rights of rivers implementation in both countries, we focus on practical governance lessons for policymakers seeking to make rights of rivers effective. Key messages: - Legal recognition of river rights is the first step for equitable river governance. - River rights must be clearly defined and operationalized. - Governance arrangements must enable coordinated leadership and accountability. - River governance should integrate community knowledge and participation. - River health should be assessed through both ecological and social criteria.