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The US-Mexico institutional arrangement
for transboundary water governance
Polioptro F. Martinez-Austria and Luis Ernesto Derbez, University of Las Americas Puebla, Mexico;
and Maria Elena Giner, Border Environment Cooperation Commission, Mexico-United States
T
he border between the United States (US) and Mexico,
as defined by both countries, spans a region of 100 km
on both sides of the border and runs 3,141 km in length
from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. It comprises four
states in the US and six in Mexico. The two countries exchange
goods worth more than a US$1 billion every day.
1
The US is
the largest trading partner for Mexico, and Mexico is the third-
largest for the US. Twenty-two US states have Mexico as their
first or second export destination.
The population living along the US-Mexico border is about 13
million people, and is expected to double between 2025 and 2030.
Ninety per cent of the population reside in 15 ‘twin cities’, large
urban centres that are separated only by the border and aware that
they share a common destiny. The border region, in its entirety, is
located in one of the more arid areas in the world, with rainfall on
the west coast close to 270 mm per year on average,
and on the east coast around to 575 mm. The region is
subject to severe and frequent droughts.
2
The border between the US and Mexico shares the
extensive watersheds of two of the largest rivers in
North America: the Colorado River and the Rio Grande
(Rio Bravo in Mexico). The social development and
welfare of the inhabitants of the vast border region
of both countries depends substantially on the water
resources of these rivers.
Since the nineteenth century, relations between the
US and Mexico have been marked by challenges, and
sometimes disputes about their shared water resources.
Throughout 125 years the two countries, despite their
economic and cultural differences, have managed to
build a legal and institutional framework which has
provided governance to the management of these
shared waters, and has allowed this natural resource to
be a source of cooperation instead of conflict.
Within the extensive international legal framework
between the two countries are, of particular impor-
tance, the Treaty of 1944 Water Distribution, the
Treaty of La Paz for the Border Environment and the
parallel agreement signed in the context of the Free
Trade Agreement that created two new binational
organizations responsible, among other things, for
supporting the conservation of the environment along
the border.
The institutional arrangement between these two
countries for the management and improvement of
transboundary waters is coordinated by the US State
Department and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Mexico, with the US Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) and the Ministry of Environment and Natural
Resources of Mexico also playing an important role.
Three binational organizations play a key role related to
transboundary waters: the International Boundary and
Water Commission (IBWC), the Border Environment
Cooperation Commission (BECC) and the North
American Development Bank (NADBANK). All these
institutions have the status of international organizations,
and enjoy a high degree of operational independence.
For 123 years, IBWC has been and continues to
be responsible for the management of international
waters between the two countries, defined in the 1944
L
egal
F
ramework
at
the
N
ational
/I
nternational
L
evel
1995
2006
2010
2012
0
20
40
60
80
100
Drinking water
Urban drainage Water treatment
Growth of coverage indicators for water and sanitation services
in the Mexican border with the United States
Source: BECC