Earth and Planetary Sciences program joins in solving global water conflicts

By Steve Carr

Michael E. Campana, director of the UNM Water Resources Program and professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, recently attended an international meeting in Oregon as part of UNM’s plan to join nine other universities across five continents in an initiative called the Universities Partnership for Transboundary Waters (UPTW).

The partnership will direct the expertise, educational and technical potential of academia towards conflicts and environmental degradation in the world’s shared river and ground-water basins.

“It’s an unparalleled opportunity to be paired with nine top universities in the world and a real feather in our cap at the University of New Mexico,” said Campana. “It demonstrates that UNM has a tremendous reputation in the various aspects of water resources management. It’s particularly good because transboundary waters are moving to the fore these days.”

Representatives of the new group met at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Ore., which is one of the lead institutions helping to coordinate the new partnership. At the organizational meeting, working plans were drafted and created a curriculum for graduate instruction in transboundary water resources management.

Nations participating in the group include the U.S., South Africa, Zimbabwe, Thailand, China, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Brazil and Costa Rica. Funding to organize the new consortium is being provided by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the U.S. Geological Survey.

The long-term goal of the partnership is to bring the capabilities of some leading institutions of higher education to bear on water issues and conflicts all over the world.

“About 60 percent of the renewable fresh water in the world has its origin in 261 international basins,” said OSU’s Marcia Macomber, the director of program development for the partnership. “This means most of the world’s water is shared water.”

Shared water sets the stage for conflict between countries and between user groups within countries. That conflict can interfere with progress in managing water resources sustainably and equitably, she said.

“Currently, there are three billion people in the world without access to sanitation and over one billion without safe drinking water. Land degradation and rapid urbanization add increasing urgency to these problems. As the global population increases, the potential for conflicts will only become more intense. This will require a better understanding of the dynamics of shared, or transboundary water resources,” Macomber said.

Familiar examples of water disputes, Macomber said, include tensions between India and Pakistan in the Indus Basin, and between the U.S. and Mexico over Colorado River and Rio Grande water.

Officials say the consortium will help expand traditional training for water resource professionals. It will provide an interdisciplinary understanding of water conflicts and promote creative approaches to avert and resolve conflicts before they become costly and counterproductive.

Academic representatives in the partnership have expertise in science, engineering and the social sciences.

Activities will include collaborative research, professional and graduate education, and information technology programs.

The graduate training, a key program of the new partnership, will help 20 students every two years from partnership universities attain certification in transboundary water resources management. This should eventually form a cadre of well-trained professionals to help resolve conflicts at local, regional and international levels, Campana said.

Campana and Marilyn O’Leary, director of the UNM School of Law’s Utton Transboundary Resources Center, will serve as UNM contact points for the UPTW.H