ADVANCING
SUSTAINABILITY
OF U.S.-MEXICO
TRANSBOUNDARY
DRYLANDS
PROCEEDINGS OF A WORKSHOP
Jordyn White and Laurie Geller, Rapporteurs
Board on Environmental Change and Society
Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education
Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate
Water Science and Technology Board
Division on Earth and Life Studies
and
Academia Mexicana de Ciencias, Academia de Ingeniería de México y
Academia Nacional de Medicina de México
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
www.nap.edu
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001
This activity was supported by contracts between the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the Mexican Academies, and the George and Cynthia Mitchell Endowment for Sustainability Sciences at the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (unnumbered). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-48424-4
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-48424-3
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/25253
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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2018). Advancing Sustainability of U.S.-Mexico Transboundary Drylands: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: https://doi.org/10.17226/25253.
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STEERING COMMITTEE FOR ADVANCING SUSTAINABILITY OF U.S.-MEXICO TRANSBOUNDARY DRYLANDS: A WORKSHOP
CHRISTOPHER SCOTT (Chair), Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, University of Arizona
ALFONSO CORTEZ LARA, Urban and Environmental Studies, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte
HALLIE EAKIN, Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University
ELISABETH HUBER-SANNWALD, Division of Environmental Studies, Instituto Potosino de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica
CONSTANTINO MACÍAS GARCIA, Institute of Ecology, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
MARÍA AMPARO MARTÍNEZ ARROYO, Instituto Nacional de Ecología y Cambio Climático
NATALIA MARTÍNEZ TAGÜEÑA, Division of Environmental Science, Instituto Potosino de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica
IGNACIO RODRIGUEZ-ITURBE, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Texas A&M University and Princeton University
KELLY TWOMEY SANDERS, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Southern California
ROBERT WASHINGTON-ALLEN, Rangeland Ecology and Management, University of Nevada, Reno
JORDYN WHITE, Project Director
TOBY WARDEN, Board Director
LAURIE GELLER, Senior Program Officer
LETICIA GARCILAZO GREEN, Senior Program Assistant
JOSÉ-LUIS MORÁN, President of the Mexican Academy of Sciences
JOSÉ FRANCO, Project Consultant (Mexican Academies Representative and Chief Coordinator of the Foro Consultivo Científico y Tecnológico)
RENATA VILLALBA, Program Associate (Mexican Academy of Sciences)
BOARD ON ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE AND SOCIETY
KRISTIE L. EBI (Chair), Global Health, University of Washington
JOSEPH ARVAI, Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan
HALLIE EAKIN, Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University
LORI HUNTER, Population Research Program, University of Colorado Boulder
KATHARINE L. JACOBS, Institute of the Environment, University of Arizona
MICHAEL A. MENDEZ, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
RICHARD G. NEWELL, Resources for the Future, Washington, DC
MARY D. NICHOLS, California Air Resources Board, Sacramento
JONATHAN T. OVERPECK, Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan
ASEEM PRAKASH, Department of Political Science, University of Washington
MAXINE L. SAVITZ, Technology/Partnerships Honeywell Inc. (retired), Los Angeles, CA
MICHAEL VANDENBERGH, Vanderbilt University School of Law
JALONNE WHITE-NEWSOME, The Kresge Foundation, Troy, MI
ROBYN S. WILSON, Environment and Natural Resources, Ohio State University
TOBY WARDEN, Director
BOARD ON ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES AND CLIMATE
A.R. RAVISHANKARA (Chair), Chemistry and Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University
SHUYI S. CHEN (Vice Chair), Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington
CECILIA BITZ, Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington
MARK A. CANE, Earth and Environmental Sciences; Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics (emeritus), Columbia University
HEIDI CULLEN, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing, CA
ROBERT DUNBAR, Environmental Earth System Science, Stanford University
PAMELA EMCH, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, Redondo Beach, CA
ARLENE FIORE, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University
PETER FRUMHOFF, Union of Concerned Scientists, Cambridge, MA
WILLIAM B. GAIL, Global Weather Corporation, Boulder, CO
MARY GLACKIN, The Weather Company, an IBM Business, Washington, DC
TERRI S. HOGUE, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado School of Mines
EVERETTE JOSEPH, Atmospheric Sciences, State University of New York at Albany
RONALD “NICK” KEENER, JR., Duke Energy Corporation, Charlotte, NC
ROBERT KOPP, Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences, Rutgers University
L. RUBY LEUNG, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA
JONATHAN MARTIN, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin–Madison
JONATHAN T. OVERPECK, Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan
ALLISON STEINER, Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
DAVID W. TITLEY, Meteorology, Pennsylvania State University
DUANE WALISER, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
AMANDA STAUDT, Director
WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY BOARD
CATHERINE L. KLING (Chair), Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future, Cornell University
NEWSHA AJAMI, Urban Water Policy, Stanford University
JONATHAN D. ARTHUR, State Geologist, Florida Department of Environmental Protection
DAVID A. DZOMBAK, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
FRANCINA DOMINGUEZ, Atmospheric Sciences, University of Illinois
WENDY D. GRAHAM, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville
MARK W. LeCHEVALLIER, Vice President, American Water, Voorhees, NJ
MARGARET A. PALMER, National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center, University of Maryland
DAVID L. SEDLAK, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
DAVID WEGNER, Retired, Water, Energy and Transportation Committee, Tucson, Arizona
P. KAY WHITLOCK, Vice President, Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Rosemont, IL
ELIZABETH EIDE, Director
Acknowledgments
This Proceedings of a Workshop was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published proceedings as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.
We thank the following individuals for their review of this proceedings: Ana Elena Escalante, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico; Constantino Macías Garcia, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico; Meredith F. Muth, International Program and Coordination, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and Jadwiga R. Ziolkowska, Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability, University of Oklahoma.
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the proceedings nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this proceedings was overseen by Aseem Prakash, Department of Political Science, University of Washington, Seattle. He was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this proceedings was carried out in accordance with standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the rapporteurs and the National Academies.
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Contents
A Brief History of Binational Collaboration
Importance of Sustainability Science to Binational Collaboration
2 UNDERSTANDING THE TRANSBOUNDARY DRYLANDS REGION
Defining “Transboundary Region,”
Available Research on Drylands Sustainability
Interaction and Flow of Resources, People, and Services
Scarcity and Abundance of Resources
4 INNOVATIONS AND SOLUTIONS IN SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE FOR DRYLANDS AREAS
The Land-Potential Knowledge System
