Book Review
The
Enlightened Bean
Café
Book Review by Dwight Deal
Conservation of Shared Environments: Learning from the United States and Mexico
Laura Lopez-Hoffman, Emily D. McGovern, Robert G. Varady, and Karl W. Flessa, editors,
University of Arizona Press, Tucson (2009) $24.95, 296 pp.
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22
his book is about ecology
and the most important
animal in the desert: man.
It is about people, politics and the
land along the border of the United
States and Mex ico. The ecological
setting was there before man, but
mans needs, aspirations and actions –
both deliberate and accidental –
drive changes occurring today.
The stated aim of this book is to
pro vide citizens and leaders in Mex -
ico and the United States with a blue-
print to work together to conserve their shared
species, ecosystems and ecosystem services. This
ambitious goal has resulted in a fact-filled com-
pendium from 46 auth ors. Un avoid ably there is
uneven coverage of topics and a wide variation in
styles of writing which can be distracting, but this
is not a novel. It is filled with facts and history and
is an exceptional reference work for those trying
to understanding the complex story of water and
land management and the ecological changes
occur ring along our southern border. Without this
historical perspective, today’s conflicts are impos-
sible to understand.
I was both surprised and gratified to learn
about the many, often personal, efforts that have
been made in the last 30 years which attempt to
resolve conflicts and focus on improving the eco-
logical wholesomeness of the region. These tasks
are not easy and remain daunting, if not seeming-
ly impossible. Most readers are likely already
members of the choir. But as a unique reference
work, I know of no equal to this book.
A great value of this book is clearly pointing
out the many players and the many conflicts. It
focuses more on the Sonoran Desert of Arizona
and California, but our own Big Bend receives
significant mention.
Humans have utilized and altered existing
ecosystems for at least 10,000 years. Defor est -
ation occurred; grasslands were converted to agri-
culture; streams were diverted and minerals
mined. Native American Indian tribes remain
players who are involved and concerned.
Europeans, lead by the Spanish, introduced
new concepts and management practices in the
late 16th century. They brought implements for
construction, agriculture, irrigation and mining
that profoundly modified the land. Environ -
mental changes were already evident by the 18th
century. These changes accelerated with the 1884
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the 1853
Cenizo
Third Quarter 2010
Gadsen Purchase, which established
the present bound ary line and
brought additional conflict between
Spanish and English legal and man-
agement systems.
Water-ownership and allocation
regimes have driven economic
change. In the western United States,
surface and groundwater were allo-
cated according to the doctrine of
“prior appropriation.” In Mexico, in
contrast, water rights were federally
held and allocated to institutions,
companies and individuals. These two modes of
water ownership complicated the transition from
Spanish and Mexican legal systems to the U.S.
one. Dam building further complicated the issues
with the construction of Boulder and Hoover
Dams on the Colorado River, Elephant Butte
(1916) on the Rio Grande and its sister dam, La
Boquilla (1916), on the Rio Conchos.
Institutions reshaping the landscape and eco -
systems that dealt explicitly with natural and water
resources arose late in the 19th century and near-
ly all were associated with governments. The most
prominent was the Interna tional Boundary Com -
mission, established by the Convention of 1889.
The role, scope and responsibilities of this com-
mission were redefined by the Water Treaty of
1944, which renamed it the Inter na tional Water
and Boundary Commission (IWBC).
Until 1983, the IWBC, although narrowly
focused on water resources, remained the only
truly binational federal institution with a stake in
the environment. Legislation in both countries
created a number of agencies charged with man-
aging agriculture, forestry, mining and fisheries.
However, as both countries sought to populate
and exploit their border regions, few of these
agencies saw land or water stewardship as priori-
ties. In 1983 the La Paz Agreement set up bina-
tional task forces on water and air pollution, nat-
ural resources and habitat, solid waste and cross-
border transportation of hazardous materials.
The task forces included representatives of the
environmental ministries and the region’s 10
state governments as well as the diplomatic corps.
Although the La Paz Agreement has remained
the bedrock of official U.S.-Mexico environmen-
tal co op eration, it has been politicized and mod-
ified considerably. The chief criticism is that
plans have lacked needed financial resources.
NAFTA was adopted in 1993 and spawned
two environmental offspring. One was the Com -