Anne Browning-Aiken

Increasing Social–Ecological Resilience by Placing Science at the Decision Table: the Role of the San Pedro Basin (Arizona) Decision-Support System Model

We have analyzed how the collaborative development process of a decision-support system (DSS) model can effectively contribute to increasing the resilience of regional social-ecological systems. In particular, we have focused on the case study of the transboundary San Pedro Basin, in the Arizona- Sonora desert region. This is a semi-arid watershed where water is a scarce resource used to cover competing human and environmental needs. We have outlined the essential traits in the development of the decision- support process that contributed to an improvement of water-resources management capabilities while increasing the potential for consensual problem solving. Comments and feedback from the stakeholders benefiting from the DSS in the San Pedro Basin are presented and analyzed within the regional (United States-Mexico boundary), social, and institutional context. We have indicated how multidisciplinary collaboration between academia and stakeholders can be an effective step toward collaborative management. Such technology transfer and capacity building provides a common arena for testing water- management policies and evaluating future scenarios. Putting science at the service of a participatory decision-making process can provide adaptive capacity to accommodate future change (i.e., building resilience in the management system).

Upper San Pedro Basin: fostering collaborative binational watershed management

Successful binational planning and management of water resources is a complex process dependent on informed decision‐making across diverse economic, social and political sectors. Additional technical and scientific information is often required as a part of this process. A critical factor in this process is how effectively social and physical scientists can help build collaboration and trust among stakeholders, water and land managers, and policy‐makers. Within the international San Pedro River Basin, disparities between Mexico and the USA regarding economic development and political orientation, combined with a highly variable and complex physical setting, suggest that the successful engagement of scientists with communities and stakeholders will be essential for addressing challenges in water management. Based upon concepts associated with collective action theory, adaptive management and conflict resolution, the present paper proposes a process for fostering collaborative binational water management in basins such as the San Pedro that span international borders.

Testing the Climate for Non-Potable Water Reuse: Opportunities and Challenges in Water-Scarce Urban Growth Corridors

This paper examines the opportunities and constraints of increasing water reuse in arid urban areas experiencing rapid population growth. Limited availability of additional water resources raises the attractiveness of reclaiming wastewater to meet increased demands for water. The need for change in water management can be viewed as an essential part of the trend towards water or natural resource governance with its recognition of the need for broader regional participation in addressing water demand problems. Using an urban case study from southwestern USA Sun Corridor in Arizona, we explore the drivers for increased use of reclaimed water, the relationship between growth and reuse, and seek to understand these unfolding processes from an applied new regionalism perspective. Through semi-structured interviews with water managers and planners, we elicit the current and planned uses of reclaimed water, and through community surveys, we investigate public willingness to increase water reuse. We explore the challenges—specifically with institutional design, water policy, and contested regionalisms—to increased use of reclaimed water in the portfolios managers use to meet overall water demand. Finally, by comparing the approaches of other arid urban areas to Arizonas, we identify steps to better integrate water planning initiatives to address potential competition and conflict for reclaimed water in water-scarce regions.