Abstract
Management of transboundary aquifers is a vexing water resources challenge, especially when the aquifers are overexploited. The Hueco Bolson aquifer, which is bisected by the United States–Mexico border and where pumping far exceeds recharge, is an apt example. We conducted a binational, multisector, serious games workshop to explore collaborative solutions for extending the life of the shared aquifer. The value of the serious game workshop was building knowledge, interest, understanding, and constituency among critical stakeholders from both sides of the border. Participants also learned about negotiations and group decision-making while building mutual respect and trust. We did not achieve consensus, but a number of major outcomes emerged, including: (1) participants agreed that action is called for and that completely depleting the freshwater in the shared aquifer could be catastrophic to the region; (2) addressing depletion and prolonging the life of the aquifer will require binational action, because actions on only one side of the border is not enough; and (3) informal binational cooperation will be required to be successful. Agreeing that binational action is called for, the serious games intervention was an important next step toward improving management of this crucial binational resource.
Highlights
We address the groundwater in the Hueco Bolson/Valle de Juárez aquifer (names used in the United States (US) and Mexico (MX) respectively, see Figure 1)
Serious games have gained attention as a way to advance actions to mitigate or adapt to risks associated with the environment and natural resources [44,45,46,47,48]
Juárez would have trouble reducing pumping by more than 15% without significant financial help from, for example, the Mexican federal government or the US
Summary
Excessive groundwater pumping is leading to rapid depletion of aquifers around the world, in the context of climate change, dwindling supplies, and increasing demand [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Aquifers have long been used as a means to buffer annual variation in meeting water demands in many regions, at the cost of long-term depletion. Aquifers represent the source of long-term adaptive capacity, but many are at risk. Moving forward, it will be crucial to establish trajectories of remaining freshwater over time, and to identify means of extending or prolonging the life of these aquifers.
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