Abstract
Integrative research on water resources requires a wide range of socio-environmental datasets to better understand human-water interactions and inform decision-making. However, in transboundary watersheds, integrating cross-disciplinary and multinational datasets is a daunting task due to the disparity of data sources and the inconsistencies in data format, content, resolution, and language. This paper introduces a socio-environmental geodatabase that transcends political and disciplinary boundaries in the Rio Grande/Río Bravo basin (RGB). The geodatabase aggregates 145 GIS data layers on five main themes: (i) Water & Land Governance, (ii) Hydrology, (iii) Water Use & Hydraulic Infrastructures, (iv) Socio-Economics, and (v) Biophysical Environment. Datasets were primarily collected from public open-access data sources, processed with ArcGIS, and documented through the FGCD metadata standard. By synthesizing a broad array of datasets and mapping public and private water governance, we expect to advance interdisciplinary research in the RGB, provide a replicable approach to dataset compilation for transboundary watersheds, and ultimately foster transboundary collaboration for sustainable resource management.
Highlights
Background & SummaryFinding solutions to manage scarce water resources to meet human water needs while sustaining ecosystems has become a priority for research[1,2,3,4] and policy makers
Synthesizing a broad range of environmental and social datasets is further critical for in-depth understanding of watershed dynamics[8] and for assessing the sustainability of water allocation[9]
We provided the spatial domain of the Rio Grande Water Conservation District (RGWCD), the location of unconfined and confined wells that the RGWCD monitors, and the boundaries of the Closed Basin, an unconfined groundwater salvage project maintained by RGWCD that transfers water from the aquifer to the surface water basin
Summary
Finding solutions to manage scarce water resources to meet human water needs while sustaining ecosystems has become a priority for research[1,2,3,4] and policy makers. Increasing pressure on water resources, due to population growth and climate change, may be an obstacle to reaching this goal and may lead to increased competition and political tensions This especially applies to transboundary river systems[6], which represent 60% of freshwater supply basins and almost 50% of the total land area on Earth[7]. Integrating scattered cross-disciplinary and multinational datasets is challenged by the disparity of data sources, transboundary discontinuity[11] and the inconsistencies in format, content, spatial and temporal resolution, languages[12], and institutional norms This can limit the study of transboundary socio-environmental systems, and calls for the development of a harmonized, transboundary, open-access database. The data synthesis approach presented here is transferable to other transboundary basins, and the geodatabase will help the research, management, and policy-making communities to foster transboundary collaboration
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