scholarly journals Trust, Risk, and Power in Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Collaborations

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 3350
Author(s):  
Holly Brause
Keyword(s):  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Transboundary Aquifer ◽  
Essential Component ◽  
Assessment Program ◽  
Collaborative Efforts ◽  
Asymmetrical Relationships

In events and discussions about transboundary aquifer assessment, trust is often cited as an essential component of collaborative efforts. However, there is little discussion of what trust is, how it is built, what diminishes trust, and why it is so important. This study uses ethnographic research carried out between 2019 and 2021 with the Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program (TAAP) to examine the role and significance of trust in U.S./Mexico TAAP collaborations. This study demonstrates that trust is best understood in relationship to power and risk. It examines the strengths and weaknesses of the TAAP program in managing asymmetrical relationships of power and unequal levels of risk in participation. In TAAP collaborations, the insistence on establishing trust should signal participants to consider and address the underlying issues of risk and power.

scholarly journals The U.S.-Mexico Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program as a Model for Transborder Groundwater Collaboration

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 530
Author(s):  
Elia M. Tapia-Villaseñor ◽  
Sharon B. Megdal
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Management ◽  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Joint Effort ◽  
Transboundary Aquifer ◽  
Assessment Program ◽  
Transboundary Aquifers

The assessment of transboundary aquifers is essential for the development of groundwater management strategies and the sustainable use of groundwater resources. The Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program (TAAP) is a joint effort by the United States and Mexico to evaluate shared aquifers. This study examines the TAAP Cooperative Framework as a guide for further transboundary groundwater collaboration. We compared lessons learned from six transboundary aquifers that currently have mechanisms for groundwater collaboration to identify common elements of collaboration. Though the TAAP Cooperative Framework governs an assessment-only program, the elements of collaboration included are consistent with the principles of other institutional agreements around the world. Importantly, all the analyzed agreements included a knowledge-improvement phase, which is the main objective of the TAAP Cooperative Framework. The present study finds evidence of successful outcomes within the TAAP Cooperative Framework consistent with available transboundary groundwater management agreements, demonstrating that this approach is suited to serve as a model for those wishing to engage in transborder aquifer assessments. Furthermore, the TAAP elements of collaboration can help to establish the meaningful and robust binational cooperation necessary for the development of U.S.-Mexico groundwater management agreements at the aquifer level.

scholarly journals Science and Binational Cooperation: Bidirectionality in the Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program in the Arizona-Sonora Border Region

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 2364
Author(s):  
Jacob D. Petersen-Perlman ◽  
Tamee R. Albrecht ◽  
Elia M. Tapia-Villaseñor ◽  
Robert G. Varady ◽  
Sharon B. Megdal
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Information ◽  
The United States ◽  
Scientific Data ◽  
Border Region ◽  
Sociocultural Factors ◽  
Transboundary Aquifer ◽  
Assessment Program ◽  
Scientific Assessment ◽  
Water Cooperation ◽  
Science Production

Sharing scientific data and information is often cited within academic literature as an initial step of water cooperation, but the transfer of research findings into policy and practice is often slow and inconsistent. Certain attributes—including salience, credibility, and legitimacy of scientific information; iterative information production; and sociocultural factors—may influence how easily scientific information can be used in management and policymaking. However, transnationality usually complicates these sorts of interactions. Accordingly, we argue that the production of scientific information and transboundary water cooperation build upon each other bidirectionally, each informing and enhancing the other. We employ a case-study analysis of the Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program (TAAP), a binational collaborative effort for scientific assessment of aquifers shared between Mexico and the United States. Here, information sharing was possible only by first completing a formal, jointly agreed-upon cooperative framework in 2009. This framework resulted in a collaborative science production process, suggesting that the relationship between sharing data and information and transboundary groundwater governance is iterative and self-reinforcing. In keeping with the publication of the TAAP’s first binational scientific report in 2016, we demonstrate the bidirectional relationship between science production and water governance in the TAAP and explore remaining challenges after scientific assessment.

Transboundary Aquifers

High and Dry ◽  
2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
William M. Alley ◽  
Rosemarie Alley
Keyword(s):  
Transboundary Aquifer ◽  
Assessment Program ◽  
Key Concepts ◽  
Mexico Border ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Right ◽  
International Boundaries ◽  
Transboundary Aquifers ◽  
The U.S

The difficulties of determining who has the right to use groundwater and how much they can pump becomes even more complicated for aquifers that cross international boundaries. The chapter discusses the few countries that have made progress in addressing transboundary aquifer issues. The chapter also provides a brief history of the Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program along the U.S.-Mexico border to illustrate key concepts and challenges.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document