When decision-making in the case of imminent water-related humanitarian disasters or violent conflict depends on a quick assessment of water-related risks, there may not be enough time to collect high-quality local data. Online available global data may offer an alternative data source. We present a method to construct a water resources model based on global datasets. We apply it to the Upper Niger Basin in West Africa and test its credibility with hydrological performance metrics and ‘fit for purpose’ indicators. The ‘fit for purpose’ indicators are tailored to questions the model should support answering and allow assessment of whether a better-performing model would result in a different basis for decision-making. We find that the model scores ‘satisfactory’ on both types of indicators. Thus, models based on global open datasets may be suitable for rapid, preliminary assessments where time is of the essence or high-quality local data is unavailable.

当与水有关的人道主义灾难或暴力冲突迫在眉睫时，决策取决于对与水有关的风险的快速评估，可能没有足够的时间来收集高质量的当地数据。在线可用的全球数据可能提供替代数据源。我们提出了一种基于全球数据集构建水资源模型的方法。我们将其应用于西非的上尼日尔盆地，并通过水文性能指标和“适合目的”指标测试其可信度。“适合目的”指标专门针对模型应支持回答的问题，并允许评估性能更好的模型是否会导致不同的决策基础。我们发现该模型在两种指标上的得分都“令人满意”。因此，