October 3 2006 Plenary Session: Hydrologic Aspects (Daene Mckinney Presentation)

CIUDAD JUAREZ, CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO

WORKSHOP OVERVIEW AND SUMMARY

Contents:

Workshop Rationale and Objectives

Workshop Discussion Topics

Summary of Breakout Group Conclusions

Appendix 1 - Invited Participants/Speakers List

Appendix 2 - Workshop Agenda

Appendix 3 - Summary of Workshop Presentations

Appendix 4 – Workshop Format

The Rio Bravo, known as the Rio Grande in the United States, is a major boundary between the United States and Mexico. It also is a river in disarray. Over-allocated throughout its basin, the river and its resources are not being used in an equitable or sustainable manner in either country. The ability of the river to support human physical, social and economic needs, while also maintaining important ecosystems, is being overwhelmed. Development and implementation of a comprehensive, integrated management approach is essential to address the serious human and environmental problems confronting this important transboundary river.

To initiate the process for achieving this difficult goal, the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and the River Systems Institute of Texas State University convened the first meeting of Project Rio on October 3-5, 2006 in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. With funding from the Global Environment Facility, this workshop was the initial phase in creating a binational, basin-wide approach directed to the management and sustainable use of the river and its resources.

Over the first two days of Project Rio, 40 selected participants representing major governmental and stakeholder groups in the Rio Bravo-Grande basin worked together in a facilitated workshop to: (1) identify critical gaps in our knowledge regarding the river; (2) identify the major obstacles to its sustainable use, and (3) prioritize the problems that must be addressed to facilitate its sustainable use on both sides of the border.

An open, public forum was held on the third day of the workshop. During this forum, the public was informed of the outcomes of the discussions of the first 2 days of the workshop, and was invited to provide additional input with regard to important transboundary concerns and issues.

Through an integrated, consensus-building process, Project Rio will be the catalyst for further binational cooperation directed to the ultimate goal of developing and applying an integrated, interdisciplinary management approach for sustainable water use within the Rio Bravo-Grande basin.

1

PROJECT RIO WORKSHOP TOPICS

Each of the following four broad topics were the subject of the presentations to the workgroup and served as general guidelines for subsequent discussions.

Hydrology and Hydraulics of the Basin

·  Characterization of water resources in basin (surface and sub-surface)

·  Potable and reuse water in the basin

·  Summary of water supply/demand in the basin, including irrigation needs

·  Extreme hydrologic events

Social, Cultural, Economic, and Political Aspects of the Basin

·  Cultural and demographic distribution of water resource use

·  Socio-economic factors affecting water allocation and uses in the basin, including human and

·  ecosystem aspects

·  Water resource uses and conflicts in the basin’s primary economic sectors (drinking water, irrigation, grazing, industry, fisheries, etc.)

·  Laws and policies related to water allocation and use in the basin, including water rights

·  Binational water resource issues and opportunities for transboundary collaboration and resource sharing

Ecological, Environmental, and Administrative Aspects of the Basin

·  Biophysical characteristics of basin (flora, fauna, geology, etc.) and environmental linkages

·  Water quality and biodiversity

·  Land use and ecological impacts of human activities in basin (urbanization, agricultural and industrial activities, tourism, fishing, grazing, etc.)

·  Potential impacts of climate change

·  Water resources use management and environmental integrity

·  Water resources management programs (international, federal, state) addressing human activities in the basin (monitoring, regulatory, distribution, advocacy, research, education, etc.)

Integrated Use of Water Resources

·  Integrated water resources management in San Francisco River Basin: A success study

·  Alternative perspectives of water users and uses of the basin water resources

·  Participation in solutions between water users, managers and decision-makers

·  Legal aspects, uses and customs for ecological and environmental equilibrium

·  Efficient and sustainable use of drainage basin water resources, including ecosystem needs

SUMMARY OF BREAKOUT GROUP CONCLUSIONS

Day 1: Tuesday, October 3, 2006

BREAKOUT SESSION I: HYDROLOGY AND HYDRAULICS OF BASIN

Proposed Issues Needing Resolution:

·  Need for coordination between countries regarding desalination options and disposal of desalination concentrates

·  Need for a workable binational mechanism to study and manage the Rio Bravo/Grande in regard to:

o  Resolving the issue of information sharing and management coordination;

o  Fortifying the binational mechanisms of administration of the river basin;

o  Integrating the handling of the river basin;

o  Fortifying local and regional institutions;

o  Increasing capacities and improving communication abilities;

o  Increasing citizen participation

·  Need for agreed-upon rational uses of the water resources used in agriculture, including issues such as water conservation, crop selection, overproduction, water re-use, reduced water rights, and desalination

·  Need for a “full systems model” that integrates surface water and groundwater in developing effective river basin management decisions

·  Need for a joint information “clearinghouse,” including means of verifying quality of information

·  Need to address population growth in the basin, and meet future water demands

·  Need for a joint plan of action to address extreme climatological phenomena (floodplain floods, droughts, conservation) and civil defense

·  Need to establish a joint “water market” that includes trusts, conversion of water rights, interchange of environmental rights, etc.

·  Need to conserve and maintain hydraulic infrastructure in the basin, and identify financial resources for this task

·  Need for a joint implementation plan to control invasive species

Short term Needs – Diagnostic Analyses:

·  Need for a rapid diagnostic of agricultural water use and identification of where the two countries can begin to address conservation measures now

In the basin

·  Diagnostic of all sectors, including manufacturing and municipalities, for water use, future needs, and possible conservation measures to meet those needs

·  Diagnostic of ecological needs, including identification of what the environment needs to remain productive

BREAKOUT SESSION II: Social, Cultural, Economics and Political Aspects

Proposed Issues Needing Resolution:

·  Need for better education about the importance of the river, to include:

o  Development of a curriculum for schools in the basin

o  Creating a habit for awareness of the issues, connections and importance of the river

o  Establishing a common language for river management

o  Developing educated decision makers

·  Need to facilitate public participation for collaborative management

·  Need for improved water governance to ensure the governments make responsible decisions, including:

o  The need for binational agreements for groundwater, environmental health and water quality, rather than focusing solely on surface water

o  The need to strengthen already-existing binational sub-basin committees

o  The need to ensure human health concerns are considered in all basin agreements and studies

o  The need to integrate cultural, social, political aspects in an objective manner in comprehensive management of the basin

o  The need to maintain the cultural aspects of the agricultural community, while also addressing water issues

Short Term Needs:

·  Need for an institutional analysis: Are they valuable? Are they helping? Do institutions working at cross-purposes exist? How are institutions impacting the sustainable use of the river and its resources?

·  Need for a thorough evaluation of the economics of water, including such issues as water marketing, water uses, virtual water transactions, legal aspects, alternative economic options (e.g., nature tourism), interests of the public, wealth & poverty, etc.

·  Need for a 2030 vision to improve river basin management, and identify development plans that can work for everyone, including performance indicators and mechanisms (e.g., appropriate policies), and comprehensive planning for sustainable use

·  Need to review the legal framework and the granting of property water rights, well as cultural and traditional aspects for rational riverbasin management

Day 2: Wednesday, October 4, 2006

BREAKOUT III: Ecological, Environmental, and Administrative Aspects

Proposed Issues Needing Resolution:

·  Need to study and determine the environmental flow requirements for the river

·  Need to identify sources of water contamination and reduce their polluting impacts

·  Need to create markets that strengthen water right exchanges, creation of a common fund, creation of a market for water reuse, determining the economic value of ecosystem on the basis of their ability to provide water quality/ecological services, and stimulating payment for environmental services

·  Need to identify a means of estimating the costs of restoration, and the anticipated benefits to the river ecosystems

·  Need to develop joint strategies for controlling invasive species that affect the integrity of the river system

·  Need to create an “Environmental Vision” for the watershed

·  Need to study groundwater and surface water interactions in the basin

·  Need to evaluate and strengthen institutional capacities in the basin

·  Need for binational management of industrial and toxic wastes

·  Need to study the impacts of fragmentation of upland areas on the river system

·  Need to develop a binational plan for disaster prevention and emergency response

·  Need to evaluate the relationship between forestry management and the health of the river

·  Need to address the mismanagement of water distribution within the basin that has caused the ecological problems related to water availability and flows

·  Need to elevate the environmental issues in the basin to the level of international/national security

·  Need to review the possible implementation of Mexican Councils in regulating water distributions in the basin, especially in the measured tributaries, including relevance to the requirements of the 1944 Treaty.

Short Term Needs:

·  Need to sub-divide the basin into sub-basins, in order to analyze data in a more effective manner, as well as the need to identify areas of greatest impacts, and causes and effects, in the basin

·  Need to control Invasive species, and replace with native species

·  Need to repair existing and aging infrastructure

·  Need to integrate available studies and information into a bi-national database (including GIS/map service), as well as identifying existing information sources on a sub-basin and basin-scale (e.g., reports by CILA and IBWC) and finding ways to disseminate it, as well as ensuring it is maintained and updated as appropriate

·  Need for an ongoing Data Summit (i.e., continuing meetings of scientists to review existing information tools, identify data gaps and define approaches to data analysis)

·  Need to evaluate the current interior management/distribution plans to determine how they account for non-compliance with the provisions of the 1944 Treaty

·  Need to review and consider recommendations from the Texas Environmental Flows Advisory Committee, and proposed legislation from both Mexico and the United States

·  Need to determine water quality conditions and trends of the river, in order to provide a baseline for assessing water quality impacts

·  Need to determine the ecological impacts on the river basin of building a wall along the border

BREAKOUT SESSION IV – Integrated Uses of Water

Need for a Binational Integrated Vision, Plan, and Implementation Strategy, including:

·  Identifying the champion for this vision on both sides of the border

·  Developing a clear vision of the integrated management process

·  Identifying and securing necessary financial support

·  Ensuring it is a participatory process

·  Creating an adaptive management scheme for the river basin

·  Creating an Initial Plan that includes short-term actions that can be implemented now

·  Integrating existing and regional plans on both sides of the border

·  Working to expand what we understand from the local level into a larger context for the basin

·  Creating checklists and indicators for activities and programs that have worked, and which have not worked, in the basin

·  Considering the totality of what we are trying to integrate in basin management efforts, including environmental, socio-economic, economic, stakeholder roles and culture, and human health concerns

·  Using existing legal frameworks (e.g., the treaties) to build common purposes

·  Implementing communication and education at all levels, including the government, public, media, academia, water use sectors, etc.

·  Identifying common issues and determining an action plan for various approaches to reach the common goal of cooperative water management

·  Identifying the timeliness and quality of the available information and data

APPENDIX 1

INVITED PARTICIPANT/SPEAKER LIST

(asterisk (*) identifies individual presenting invited background paper)

International Representation

*Maria Apostolova - Organization of American States (OAS), Unit for Sustainable Development and Environment

*Isabelle Vanderbeck - United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Mexico Representation

Lic. Salomón Abedrop López - Comisión Estatal de Agua (CEA), Saneamiento de Coahuila

*Dr. Ismael Aguilar Barajas - Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey

Francisco Javier Alejo López - Estado de Nuevo León

Ing. Rubén Barocio Ramírez - S.A. de C.V., Estudios Económicos y de Ingeniería

Lic. Gonzalo Bravo - Comisión de Cooperación Ecológica Fronteriza (COCEF)

Dr. Daniel Chacón Anaya - Comisión de Cooperación Ecológica Fronteriza (COCEF)

Dra. Helena Cotler Ávalos - Instituto Nacional de Ecología, SEMARNAT

Dr. Oscar Arnoldo Escolero Fuentes - Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Instituto de Geología

Lic. Eleno García Benavente - Uso Eficiente del Agua, S.C.

Ing. Arturo Herrera Solís - Comisión Internacional de Límites y Aguas (CILA)

Ing. José María Hinojosa Aguirre - Comisión Nacional del Agua (CONAGUA), Frontera Noreste,Gerencia de Asuntos Fronterizos

*Dr. Alberto Jaime Paredes - Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), División de Ingenierías Civil y Geomática

Ing. Jorge Luis López Martínez - Vocal Uso Agroindustrial por Tamaulipas en el Consejo de Cuenca del Río Bravo