In this Section:

	Background
	Project Overview
	Methods
	Results
	References
	Related Links
	Contacts

Research and Products:
Border/Mexico Studies

Methods

I. Decentralization of Urban Water and Climate Science Use for Sustainability Planning in Border Cities

In the Decentralization of Urban Water Management study, the research team conducted in-depth, semi-structured “key decision maker” interviews with urban water managers, academic experts, and environmentalists in seven major cities, including the “twin” border cities of Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora. Responsibility for urban water services in each city had recently been decentralized from the federal to the state or municipal government, and in some cases involved a private water company.

II. River Basin Councils and Climate Science Use toward Sustainability Planning in Sonora

A research team that included Dr. Nicolás Pineda Pablos, professor of public policy studies at El Colegio de Sonora and a consultant on the NOAA grant, conducted approximately 35 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with water sector experts, including those responsible for development and implementation of the river basin councils in Sonora, members of the councils, and some who are observers of the river basin council process.

Research began in 2003 and final fieldwork was conducted in June 2006. The research process began with an extensive review of the international literature on river basin councils and integrated water resource management (IWRM) to help shape and formulate study objectives and questions. Subsequently, the research team conducted interviews in Hermosillo, Nogales (Sonora), Caborca, Ciudad Obregón, Navojoa, and Alamos. Interview subjects included National Water Commission (C.N.A.) officials, local water managers, academic water experts, local water and irrigation officials, members of river basin councils, and environmental groups.

III. Community and Conservation: Assessing Public Values Toward the Lower Colorado River and Delta—A Binational Study

The project has been conducted in three phases. Phase I, completed in 2005-2006, involved twenty decision-maker interviews, the construction of a socio-economic database for the Delta region, participation on a binational steering committee working toward conservation of this international area, and developing a research collaboration among the Sonoran Institute (SI), the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and the University of Arizona CLIMAS border research team.

Phase II, 2006-2008, represents a collaboration among SI, NWF, and CLIMAS. Led by Climas co-PI, Dr. Margaret Wilder, a small research team has conducted 800 random household surveys in three areas of the Delta: 1) within three “restoration zone communities” where Sonoran Institute is active in ecological restoration with local residents; 2) within the U.S. side of the Limitrophe region (Gadsden and Somerton); and 3) within the Mexico side of the Limitrophe region. The Limitrophe is a 23-mile rich, riparian area where the Colorado River forms the border between the U.S. and Mexico.

In Phase III, 2007-2008, we will conduct interviews with approximately 50 group leaders in larger urban areas, such as Yuma, Mexicali and San Luis Rio Colorado, regarding how these groups use and ‘value” the Delta’s riparian resources. During Phase III, we will complete our survey analysis and develop a GIS product to illustrate movements and flows of people and uses of riparian areas within the Lower Colorado and Delta region. We will also organize workshops to present preliminary survey and interview results to local communities in the region, and we will develop a final report and scholarly articles, for dissemination among interested stakeholders and others.