Engagement Impacts

Current climate scenario predictions identify the US-Mexico border as a "hot spot" of climate change, both in relation to increased rainfall intensity and increased temperatures. Twin city areas in the transboundary setting have long histories of management that rely on mutual dependency. Appropriate land use, watershed management, and flood-attenuation plans are critical, yet challenging, especially in cross-border urban areas. Collaboration is imperative for binational sustainable development.

To commemorate 30 years of collaboration on arid lands issues, the International Arid Lands Consortium (IALC) is hosting a three-day international conference on arid lands. A key goal of the conference is to underscore the value of the IALC mission

Sustainable water management is one of the most challenging issues of our time, especially in the arid western US. Maximizing the benefits of water supplies requires careful measurement of availability and use. However, one important information gap is compounding this challenge: the lack of consistent consumptive water use data for irrigated agriculture, which accounts for the majority of water use in the western US. To date, access to this data has been limited and expensive, keeping it out of the hands of most water users and decision-makers who could benefit from its use.