INTEGRATED WATER MANAGEMENT RESEARCH IN MEXICO: OPPORTUNITY FOR NORTH AMERICAN COLLABORATION

One of the most common approaches to natural resource management is to focus on watershed management. Many natural processes are integrated across a watershed, and upstream impacts on downstream water users are obvious. Often forestry or agriculture are the most prevalent land use in the headwaters, and municipal and industrial uses for water dominate in the urban areas downstream. Because many people are involved, there is an obvious potential to provide significant net benefits if watershed management can be improved. In early September 2006, the National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico initiated a call for proposals for mega-projects in the areas of biotechnology, information and telecommunications technology, design and processes of manufacturing, nanotechnology and materials, rural and urban development (including social and economic aspects), water, and alternative sources of energy. The aim of the proposals was to develop a long-term research strategy to fill the gaps in knowledge in the different areas addressed as national security issues. The National Institute for Forestry, Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Research of Mexico (INIFAP) responded by initiating a multi-institutional and multi-objective endeavor to organize the water research efforts of several institutions within the country having the vision of integrated water management.