Groundwater and interdependent sovereignty: The case of the transborder aquifer systems in the Paso del Norte Binational Region

Abstract

Mexico and the United States have a historic relationship in the political distribution of their transborder water. Nevertheless, with the deepening and importance of the North American Free Trade Agreement (nafta), transborder aquifer systems emerge as strategic reservoirs in the process of building water security on the border shared by the two nations. This article examines the case of Paso del Norte and the details of the competition for access and appropriation of transborder groundwater in recent decades based on asymmetrical institutional processes and mechanisms that have led to local political tensions. It also analyzes the implications and challenges Mexico must take on regarding the legal and institutional vacuums regulating these systems and reflects on the importance of designing a sovereign, interdependent water policy to foster cooperation for equitable distribution of transborder groundwater.