An opportunity and an imperative: Chapter 11 in <i>United States-Mexican Borderlands: Facing tomorrow's challenges throu

By Randall G. Updike and William R. Page

Along the nearly 3,200 kilometers (almost 2,000 miles) of the United States–Mexican border, we are witnessing the expression of the challenges of the 21st century. The Borderlands have become a microcosm for the entire United States and Mexico; the issues faced in that region are felt throughout both nations—water availability and quality, ecosystem health, natural resource needs, safety from natural hazards, and human socioeconomic well-being. If these issues were not challenging enough, we now recognize that the difficulties of addressing them are exacerbated by the onset of climate change, and as we come to better understand the complexities of the components of these challenge themes, we discover that each part is inextricably intertwined with other overarching issues. Further, because we are a creative and progressive society, we all seek to understand and appreciate the natural environments associated with the Borderlands while at the same time benefitting from the region’s many social and economic values. It is little wonder that we as a society find it increasingly difficult to ask the right questions, much less find suitable answers to the questions we do ask. For the many scientists who have worked in the Borderlands and contributed to the preceding chapters, this circular is a way to describe to the two nations of the region the capabilities the U.S. Geological Survey can provide to assist in that quest for knowledge and understanding in preparation for the future.

United States–Mexican Borderlands. . . .facing tomorrow’s challenges through USGS science

Though the mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is not to serve as land manager, law enforcer, or code regulator, its innovation and creativity and the scientific and technical depth of its capabilities can be directly applied to monitoring the conditions of the landscape. The ability of USGS scientists to critically analyze the monitored data in search of signals and trends, whether they lead to negative or positive results, allows us to reach significant conclusions—from providing factual conclusions to decisionmakers, to estimating how much of a natural resource exists in a particular locale, to predicting how a natural hazard phenomenon will unfold, to forecasting on a scale from hours to millennia how ecosystems will behave.

Fortunately, both Mexico and the United States are beginning to recognize the urgency needed in responding to the challenges described in these chapters. Land management agencies, natural resource entities, political and social leaders, and private citizens are facing tomorrow’s challenges by taking the initiative to search for solutions. The USGS offers a wealth of capabilities in support of that goal, and though some of our partners in our applied science efforts are other Federal agencies, we also seek to collaborate with State and local partners, associations, State and county governments, nongovernmental organizations, and our counterparts in Mexico at both the Federal and State levels.

One outcome of the discussions offered in this circular would be to encourage the development of strategic and multidisciplinary solutions to problems with local to far-reaching scopes. To this end, the USGS approaches collaboration with our present and future partners in the Borderlands with three goals: (1) develop a basic understanding of the specific issues and concerns facing Federal, State, and local governments and private entities; (2) recommend ways to address these issues and concerns; and (3) carry out investigations that help to address each specific border issue.

Dr. Janet Ruth of the Fort Collins Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, studying wintering grassland birds in southeastern Arizona with the help of local student volunteers. Dr. Ruth conducted research over several years in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Audubon Society, and private landowners. For more information on this project, see http://www.fort.usgs.gov/HerdingSparrows/.

United States–Mexican Borderlands. . . .facing tomorrow’s challenges through USGS science

This circular identifies several challenge themes associated with the United States–Mexican border region—ecological resources, water availability and quality, environmental and human health, people in the Borderlands, energy and mineral resources, natural hazards, and border security and environmental protection. Climate change is also discussed, as it influences the course of all of these issues. The discussion for each theme has focused on how the USGS can work with cooperating agencies to improve understanding of the issues, which can then lead to action and hopefully to collaborative solutions. The table on the following pages reviews the eight issues covered in this circular and summarizes what we, the USGS, consider to be our essential core responsibilities in addressing each of these challenges. Below are some brief highlights of just a few of the ways the USGS uses our multidisciplinary science to meet these core responsibilities.

The Borderlands region boasts the highest diversity of desert plants and one of the largest number of bird species in the world. Increases in human populations and associated changes in land use, however, threaten this diversity by contributing to the fragmentation and loss of ecosystem habitats. The USGS uses state-of-the-art research to address habitat loss and fragmentation; projects include developing ecological indicators, conducting baseline biologic inventories, and determining the effects of climate change on ecosystems by mapping and monitoring vegetation and habitats across the United States–Mexican border region.

Water availability is one of the most important issues in the Borderlands because it is intertwined with the socioeconomic well-being of communities, with ecosystem diversity, and with the survival of unique species. Hydrologic capabilities of the USGS address the water issues of these complex systems through monitoring, characterization, and modeling activities.

Issues related to energy and mineral resources include supply and demand, competing land uses, and the environmental consequences of resource management. The USGS addresses these issues through resource predictive modeling, monitoring, and assessment activities.

Protecting the environment, safeguarding human health, and understanding and mitigating the effects of human activity in the Borderlands are challenged by stressors such as overpopulation, inadequate infrastructure, water shortages, elevated rates of communicable disease, and contaminants in air, soil, and water. In addition to water quality monitoring, the USGS leads in the development of environmental indicators and human health geospatial analyses.

Natural hazard risks such as earthquakes, landslides, wildfires, hurricanes, and flash floods threaten communities and infrastructure along the border. The USGS possesses advanced capabilities to monitor natural hazards, analyze levels of risk and vulnerability, and provide risk assessment data to emergency response officials, resource managers, and the public to help reduce property damage, injury, and loss of life.

Rapid population and economic growth and the problem of undocumented border crossings present challenges for the management of border security and environmental protection among the unique natural resources of the Borderlands. To help protect these resources, the USGS has developed binational, integrated science datasets to support the border and environmental security and management activities of Federal, State, and local agencies.

Perhaps the most perplexing issue facing the Borderlands is climate change and how it could affect the region. Because it is a far-reaching and long-term concern, climate change will continue to have an increasing influence on all of the Borderlands challenge themes. The USGS is vigorously developing its climate change science program to assess the overall effects on society and ecosystems, not only in the Borderlands, but throughout the world as well. Forecasting environmental change on decadal scales—such as precipitation, water availability, changes in seasonality, and the response of living organisms—will be critical to successfully addressing each of the Borderlands challenge themes.

Climate Change

For more than one hundred years the Borderlands environment was able to exist somewhat unaffected by the scattered occupation of humans who demanded little from the land and exerted little influence in return. The marks of man’s activities were only fine scratches on an expansive, wild panorama, but with the recognition that natural resources abounded in the Borderlands, that water, though apparently scarce, could be obtained, and that the land could support extensive agriculture and burgeoning cities, the fine marks became bold strokes. The most powerful change, however, has been the converging and blending of the Mexican and American populations in the Borderlands, coalescing into a unique Borderlands society. Inexpensive labor has fueled expansive urban sprawl, and supply and demand for products and people, both legal and illicit, have overrun the natural environment along many segments of the border, inhibiting the environment’s ability to recover from human activity.

The USGS has a long history of providing reliable science information to work toward the resolution of important environmental and societal issues. The interdisciplinary science programs of the USGS and the breadth and depth of expertise of our researchers yield unique and unbiased perspectives on how such issues can be addressed throughout the Borderlands.

Where this page came from

This page was imported from U.S. Geological Survey. Published by the U.S. Geological Survey and, as a work of the United States government, in the public domain.

Nobody has written it yet — it is the source material at a new address, which is why search engines are asked to skip it and why no one earns from it. It is up for grabs: take it on, and it is yours to rewrite and to earn from.