Abstract

The first two phases of work on the Mountain Aquifer project (001137/93-0027 and 002382 (95-0008) have demonstrated a number of options for managing the use of an aquifer shared by two sovereign entities, while balancing efficiency, equity and environmental sustainability. This final phase of the project will study the possibility of adapting two existing models for simulating the effects of these management regimes under varying climatic and economic conditions, with both complementary and divergent choices by the two regimes. The project will involve the same researchers that were involved in the two previous phases, but they will be assisted by two American nongovernmental organizations (NGOs): the Natural Heritage Institute, which has developed a model for decision-makers faced with critical water decisions in California, and the Stockholm Environment Institute (Boston office), which has developed the user-friendly end-use-based Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) model for projecting water use in the future. The overall aim is to provide a stronger technical basis for continuing elaboration of management structures for this shared water resource, and to demonstrate the advantages of joint management to a wide - and possibly skeptical - audience of decision-makers.

Recipient Institution(s)