L2. The role of water data and information to better prepare for water security and future challenges

Globally, water data and information are in needs for sustainable planning, management and meet the sustainable development goals SDGs for water resources taking into account climate changes and other drivers. The Australian National Plan for Water Security recognised that better water information was essential for maintaining water security during Australia's inevitable droughts named Millennium Drought. At the time, the Government and policy and decision makers were facing a water crisis but had no nationally consistent and accessible data. Water data was held by approximately 200 organisations across state and local governments or not exists. With gap in the data and no standardisation, transparency, and accessibility this data was difficult to compare and used to provide national useful information and insights that can support the decision making processes. Moreover, the state-based data and information often reflected the states' competing interests. This Session will discuss the global challenges and how these translated into Australia and water sector. It will provide and share the Australian experience in response to these water data and information challenges journey over the last 10 years with spotlighting on available water data, information and tools and their usefulness accompanied by user cases in terms of industry and community. It is also acquiring international experiences in water data and information management.