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STRENGTHENING SCIENCE-BASED DECISION MAKING IN DEVELOPING
COUNTRIES
Sustainable Management of
Groundwater in Mexico
Proceedings of a Workshop
Laura Holliday, Luis Marin, and Henry Vaux, Editors
Science and Technology for Sustainability Program
Policy and Global Affairs
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20001
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research
Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of
Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for
their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This workshop was supported by the United States Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) and the American
Chemistry Council. This summary is funded in part by the EPA via contract number X-83086001. Any opinions,
findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily
reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.
International Book Number 13: 978-0-309-10582-8
International Book Number 10: 0-309-10582-X
Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, N.W., Lockbox 285,
Washington, DC 20055; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area); Internet,
http://www.nap.edu
Copyright 2007 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
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The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars
engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their
use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has
a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone
is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of
Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the
selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal
government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national
needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf
is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of
eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the
public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional
charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care,
research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad
community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the
federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has
become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of
Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The
Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Wm.
A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
www.national-academies.org
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STEERING COMMITTEE ON STRENGTHENING SCIENCE-BASED DECISION-
MAKING IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Michael Clegg (Chair)
Distinguished Professor of Genetics, Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of
California, Riverside
Thomas Lovejoy
President, H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment
Whitney MacMillan
Director Emeritus, Cargill, Inc.
Perry McCarty
Silas H. Palmer Professor Emeritus, Stanford University
Roger McClellan
President Emeritus, Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology
F. Sherwood Rowland
Donald Bren Research Professor of Chemistry and Earth System Science, University of
California, Irvine
STAFF:
John Boright
Deputy Executive Director, Policy and Global Affairs
Pat Koshel
Senior Staff Officer, Science and Technology for Sustainability Program
Laura Holliday
Senior Program Associate, Science and Technology for Sustainability Program (through
4/28/2006)
Derek Vollmer
Program Associate, Policy and Global Affairs Division
Kathleen McAllister
Program Assistant, Policy and Global Affairs Division
v
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PREFACE
During the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), the U.S. National
Academies, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the American Chemistry Council
announced a new initiative to facilitate better communication among scientists, policymakers, and
other decision-makers so that scientific knowledge more effectively informs public policy and
private sector decisions relating to sustainability in developing countries. More specifically, the
goals of the initiative are:
Foster improved understanding of the science and decision-making process,
•
including national and local policy, industrial design and planning, and public
choices;
Establish dialogue in which decision-makers use science to inform their decisions
•
and scientists consider the needs of decision-makers in their choice of research;
Identify gaps between the needs of decision-makers and scientific research
•
priorities and strategies for bridging these gaps, including ways to increase the
professional connection between scientists and decision-makers, and;
Share workshop results, via summaries and briefings, with a broader audience of
•
scientists and decision-makers in the host country and internationally.
To achieve these objectives, the organizations involved (see list below) provided support for a
series of "science in decision-making workshops" in developing countries on key issues of
particular concern to the host country such as water and sanitation, persistent organic pollutants,
and biodiversity. The workshops convene representatives from host country and U.S. scientific
institutions, government, industry, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, and
other relevant organizations. Crosscutting themes addressed in the workshops include monitoring
and data evaluation; elements of good science advice; facilitating the flow of scientific
information; and the roles of institutions that link scientists and decision-makers.
Workshop topics are proposed by science organizations in developing countries. A steering
committee established by the U.S. National Academies reviewed proposals and provided general
oversight for the series. The workshop co-chairs– one from the respective developing country
and one from the United States – designed each workshop, which were organized in a
collaborative process involving the U.S. National Academies and one or more science
organization from the partnering country.
vii
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The initiative involved the following organizations:
• •
U.S. National Academies InterAcademy Panel
• •
Mexican Academy of Sciences American Chemistry Council
• •
Chinese Academy of Sciences U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• •
TWAS, the Academy of Sciences Scientific Committee on Programs of
for the Developing World the Environment, China
• •
H. John Heinz Center for Science, State Environmental Protection
Economics, and the Environment Administration of China
• National Council for Science and
the Environment
The initiative’s first workshop, “Strengthening Science-Based Decision-Making for Sustainable
Management of Ground Water in Mexico,” was a joint workshop between the U.S. National
Academies and the Mexican Academy of Sciences, and is featured in this report. The workshop
was held February 8-10, 2004, in Mérida, Mexico. The workshop was co-chaired by Dr. Luis
Marin, Professor of Geology at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM –
National Autonomous University of Mexico) and Dr. Henry Vaux, Professor of Resource
Economics and Associate Vice President Emeritus of the University of California, Berkeley. The
workshop addressed science-based decision-making in a regional (Yucatan peninsula) and topical
(sustainable ground water management) context.
Sustainable groundwater management in Mexico was selected as the workshop topic because
Mexico, particularly the Yucatan peninsula, faces important groundwater management
challenges—similar to those faced in some regions of the United States—which could benefit
substantially from improved scientific input into decision-making processes. Over 75 million of
Mexico’s 100 million inhabitants rely on ground water for drinking and other domestic uses.
Ground water is also important in supporting the agricultural sector, where it accounts for 57% of
total water use. Projected population growth suggests that attention must be given to developing
effective and sustainable regimes of ground water management if the nation’s resources are to
prove adequate to support anticipated population and economic growth. Despite the importance
of ground water resources in Mexico, there is concern about whether these resources are being
managed in a sustainable fashion. Key aquifers, such as those supporting the population of
Mexico City in the Valley of Mexico, are subject to persistent overdraft. Some coastal aquifers
are subject to salt water intrusion and virtually all aquifers in the country are subject to qualitative
degradation. Overdraft and quality decline could render substantial proportions of the ground
water resource unusable in the future either because of economic exhaustion or water quality
degradation.
viii
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One important step in developing sustainable regimes for the management of ground water
resources is to build strong linkages between scientists with groundwater expertise and the
managers. The workshop was designed to enhance those linkages. Workshop participants,
approximately half from Mexico and half from the United States, included scientists, federal and
state government decision-makers, representatives from non-government organizations (NGOs),
and the private sector (see Appendix B for a list of participants).
The papers included in this volume were submitted by the participants to help frame these
discussions. As such, many of the papers do not include the technical detail or exhaustive
citations found in a scientific journal. The opinions expressed in the papers do not necessarily
reflect the views of all workshop participants, their affiliated organizations, or the National
Academies. The report does not contain consensus findings or recommendations from the
workshop participants as a whole.
Participants considered the following issues:
Quality and availability of water resources in the face of continued population and
•
economic growth;
Importance of ground water for domestic consumption and use by industry and
•
agriculture in the Yucatan peninsula;
Economic and public health risks that can result from failure to effectively manage
•
ground water quality; and
Opportunities to improve the stewardship of ground water resources in the
•
Yucatan and the rest of Mexico with the aid of science.
A distinctive feature of the workshop was a concluding roundtable discussion focusing on the
identification of the most effective ways of making scientific information available to those
charged with ground water policy and decision making. The U.S. workshop chair verbally
summarized that discussion – his remarks are included as the first chapter in the proceedings.
More information about the program “Strengthening Science-Based Decision-Making in
Developing Countries” and about the Science and Technology for Sustainability Program is
available online at www.nationalacademies.org/sustainability. This workshop proceedings is
available online at www.nap.edu.
ix
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We wish to express our sincere thanks to the many individuals who played significant roles in
guiding the initiative “Strengthening Science-Based Decision-Making in Developing Countries.”
The steering committee provided guidance on the initiative’s goals; identified appropriate modes
of operation; and reviewed all workshop proposals. Steering committee members include:
Chairman Michael Clegg, University of California, Riverside; Thomas Lovejoy, H. John Heinz
III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment; Whitney MacMillan, Cargill, Inc.; Perry
McCarty, Stanford University; Roger McClellan, Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology; and
F. Sherwood Rowland, University of California, Irvine.
For the workshop featured in this proceedings “Strengthening Science-Based Decision-Making
for Sustainable Management of Groundwater in Mexico” workshop co-chairs Dr. Luis E. Marin,
Professor of Geology at the Institute of Geophysics of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de
Mexico (UNAM – Mexican National Autonomous University) and Dr. Henry Vaux, Professor of
Resource Economics and Associate Vice President Emeritus of the University of California,
Berkeley were instrumental in designing the workshop agenda and ensuring productive
discussions. El Centro de Investigación Científicas de Yucatán, A.C. (Yucatán´s Center for
Scientific Research) graciously hosted the workshop, in their Merida facility. Luis E. Marín
acknowledges a Sabbatical Fellowship from the Dirección General de Asuntos del Personal
Académico of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (DGAPA-UNAM).
This publication was made possible by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(US EPA) and from the American Chemistry Council. The statements made and views expressed
are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not represent the positions of the US EPA, the
American Chemistry Council, the U.S. National Academies, the Mexican Academy of Sciences,
or other organizations where the authors are employed.
This volume has been reviewed in draft form by several individuals chosen for their technical
expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Academies’ Report Review
Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments
that will assist the institution in ensuring that the report is as sound as possible and meets
institutional standards for quality. The review comments and original draft manuscript remain
confidential to protect the integrity of the process.
We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this volume: William Alley, U.S.
Geological Survey; Gonzalo Merediz Alonso, Amigos de Sian Ka'an A.C.; Katherine Jacobs,
University of Arizona; Mario Rebolledo-Vieyra, Centro de Estudios del Agua del Centro de
Investigación Cientificas de Yucatań, A.C. (Yucatán´s Center for Scientific Research, Water
Studies Research Center); and Birgit Steinich, Centro de Geociencias-Campus Querétaro,
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México(Geoscience Center, Mexican National Autonomous
University-UNAM).
xi
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Although these reviewers have provided constructive comments and suggestions, they were not
asked to endorse the content of the individual papers. Responsibility for the final content of the
papers rests with the individual authors.
Special thanks are extended in recognition of the important contributions of the following
National Academies staff: John Boright, Executive Director of the Office of International Affairs,
who provided oversight for the initiative; Pat Koshel, who contributed substantially to planning
the workshop; and Derek Vollmer, Zainep Mahmoud and Kathleen McAllister who assisted in
editing the report.
Laura Holliday, Luis Marin, and Henry Vaux, Editors
xii
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Contents
Chairman’s Summary 1
Henry Vaux Jr., University of California, Berkeley
Freshwater Resources in the Yucatan Peninsula 6
Sam Meacham, CINDAQ
An Overview of Mexico’s Water Regime and the Role of Groundwater 13
Felipe Arreguín-Cortés and Mario López-Pérez, Comisión Nacional del Agua
A Primer on Groundwater Management 26
Michael E. Campana, University of New Mexico
The Elements of Scientific Advice 36
Henry Vaux Jr., University of California, Berkeley
Where Do Decision-Makers Get Scientific Advice? 44
Sustainable Groundwater Management Decisions
Steve E. Ragone, National Groundwater Association
The Role of Science in Managing Yucatan’s Groundwater 52
Luis Marín, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico
The Hydrology of the Yucatan Pennisula 62
Oscar A. Escolero Fuentes, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico
The Role of Science in Groundwater Management in Arizona 69
Rita P. Maguire, Think AZ
The Importance of Monitoring To Groundwater Management 76
William M. Alley, US Geological Survey
How Can Managers and Scientists Facilitate the Flow of Scientific Information? 86
Perspectives from Mexico
Alfonso Larqué-Saavedra, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán
Matching Fund Program for Scientific Research:
El Consejo Nacional De Ciencia Y Tecnología, CONACyT 89
(The National Council on Science and Technology)
Oscar Vázquez, CONACyT
xiii
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How Can Managers and Scientists Facilitate the Flow of Scientific Information? 91
Perspectives from the United States
William R. Mills, Orange County Water District
Science and NGOs: Collaboration for the Conservation of 97
Groundwater Resources in the Yucatan Peninsula
Gonzalo Merediz Alonso, Amigos de Sian Ka’an
Businesses Committed to Sustainable Development: The XCaret Group 103
Ana Lilia Cordova, XCaret Group
Appendix A: Workshop Agenda 107
Appendix B: Workshop Participants 111
xiv
