Identification and development of indicators has been recognized as the cornerstone of the United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR), the principal product of the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP). Collectively, the UN agencies have resolved that a longer-term horizon for indicator development is needed. This effort has generated enough evidence that data availability for UN programmes, such as WWAP and IHP, is contingent upon the willingness of Member States to contribute data and the sensitivities of the bilateral/multilateral agreements which are already in place. The dependence of indicator development on data can lead to a situation wherein data availability drives the selection of indicators, which, in turn, reinforces the collection of the same data.