Water Conflict Between the US and Mexico

In recent years the media have been persistently talking about the possibility of conflicts, even wars, sparked by regional or international disputes over the control of and access to water. This renewable, but scarce, natural resource has been under intense pressure as demand increases At the same time, the eco-systems that produce fresh water have been altered or destroyed, while surface and groundwater have suffered severe ecological damage from pollution caused by urban systems and commercial agriculture. Growing demand, both present and projected, has evidenced regional and international conflicts in which those involved seek to ensure access to water, following the perspectives determined by cyclical shortages attributable to droughts. The backdrop is formed by the naturally limited availability of water in the arid regions of the world (Cortez, Whiteford and Chávez, 2005). Mexico is no stranger to such conflicts, since arid conditions that limit water availability are present on two thirds of the nation's territory. At the same time, most of the surface water available in the basins (the Rio Grande -- Rio Bravo in Spanish -- the Colorado river and Tijuana) located in states near the US border is distributed in accordance with a legal framework agreed between the two countries in the 1906 Convention and the 1944 Treaty.