We share water problem, so let's share
solution
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By Gov. Tomas
Yarrington
June 18, 2002 |
The lack of water and the need for a
comprehensive binational approach to managing this resource poses the
greatest challenge to sustainable development of the U.S.-Mexico border
region. This is especially true along the most commercially active portion
of the border, which my state of Tamaulipas shares with Texas from the Gulf
of Mexico to Nuevo Laredo.
The current trouble has been brewing for a long time.
Since the 1944 U.S.-Mexico Treaty on the sharing of border river waters went
into effect, the population of the border region has grown from a few
hundred thousand people to about 20 million. It has been transformed from a
largely agricultural region into one of diverse manufacturing, services and
commerce (though farm irrigation still consumes 80 percent of border water).
The number of border crossings has quadrupled, as the United States and
Mexico have built one of the world's largest trade partnerships.
In Tamaulipas and Texas, we see the border as unifying rather than dividing
our two nations, and know the same sentiment is held strongly by our
presidents. But a decade-long drought is testing our national leaders'
ability to act on a vision of unity and to find the financial resources
needed to invest in the solution.
The test I refer to is not whether the United States can push Mexico hard
enough to force water deliveries sufficient to salvage this summer's crops
in South Texas. The test is whether the two nations will, for the first
time, come together under federal leadership to manage border water
resources by replacing a fragmented approach with one that encompasses all
the stakeholders and serves the interests of the region as a whole.
This is not to downplay the importance of both nations honoring commitments
under the 1944 treaty. We should build on, not discard, the treaty and the
expertise and capabilities of the International Boundary and Water
Commission.
To their credit, the Bush and Fox administrations have largely avoided
playing the blame game. Recognizing the urgency of the situation, both sides
are working to resolve the current crisis in a cooperative manner. But
better coordination and sustained high-level attention are warranted, as
water disputes rarely, if ever, lend themselves to easy solutions.
Certainly, in the present case, there is no easy solution.
In charting a way out of the present crisis, I believe the U.S. and Mexican
presidents need to take four actions.
First, set the facts straight on supplies and demands on water covered in
the 1944 treaty. The current atmosphere of attack and counterattack by
competing stakeholders is getting nowhere. Clearly, the federal authorities
could exert their influence and bring together all the experts to define a
shared situation analysis, as they have done in the past, for example, on
issues such as immigration.
Second, launch an active disaster management process for the current
agricultural production cycle in each country. Farmers are being ruined by
drought on both sides of the river. Political leaders and public officials
in both the United States and Mexico should acknowledge this harsh reality
and consider immediate steps to provide relief to farmers and communities
under the appropriate national- and state-level programs.
Third, develop a binational water plan and coordination structure for the
border region. Such a plan must address present conservation and
infrastructure needs, and the need for updated approaches to better manage
supplies and demands. Such a plan must also look far into the future, as we
know the region will likely remain fast-growing for decades to come.
Expanding the mandate of the NADBank so that this key regional instrument
can respond to the broad infrastructure needs that constrain the border's
development may offer an effective route.
Fourth, open the door to stronger federal-state partnerships, including
granting observer status for border governors at the binational ministerial
meetings. Last year, as leaders of the U.S.-Mexico Border Governors'
Conference, Arizona Gov. Jane Hull and I called upon Presidents Bush and
Vicente Fox to bring border governors into a closer partnership with federal
efforts to address cross-border challenges. As our binational governors
group prepares to meet in Arizona later this month, I renew this call.
Finally, there are things that the border states can do on their own. We
need to build a stronger water conservation culture. And we need to help
generate practical solutions. As governor of Tamaulipas, I plan to soon
convene U.S. and Mexico water experts, public officials, private
corporations and nonprofit groups, and international organizations to help
define the common ground and foster cooperation and new problem-solving
approaches to border water issues.
The debate over water is exposing what historically has been the Achilles'
heel of the border region: the lack of political will at the national level
to develop ambitious binational solutions to shared problems. Under a strong
federally led effort as described above, I believe the region can emerge
from the current crisis and set a course toward a future of sound water
management.
Yarrington is governor of the state of Tamaulipas in Mexico. |
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