Statement of Proposed Study or Research
Name: Chantelise Pells
Country: Mexico
Field of Study: Geography
Social Heterogeneity and Cooperation: Groundwater Governance in Guadalupe Valley,
Northern Baja California Mexico and Sonoma Valley, California USA
The Problem: I propose to investigate the role of social heterogeneity and cooperation in a local
groundwater user association in Mexico’s largest viticulture region, Guadalupe Valley, Northern
Baja California. Understanding how inequities factor in to and can be resolved at a local level is
critical to assessing the effectiveness of international aid programs that incentivize collaborative
and local resource management. In 1992 Mexico established a new water law that transferred
governance of water resources from central government authority to state and watershed based
institutions and incorporated the principles of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM).
IWRM is “a process which promotes coordinated development and management of water, land
related resources, in order to maximize the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable
manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems” (Global Water Partnership
2000). International organizations such as the World Bank and United Nations promote Mexico
as a successful model of IWRM. However, recent evidence indicates insufficient community
participation in management planning meetings and adherence to groundwater regulations.
The Setting: In Mexico one third of the total agriculture production is groundwater dependent.
Consequently, half of the water extracted comes from overdrawn aquifers presenting a food
security and livelihood risk. Guadalupe Valley is emblematic of this national (and international)
trend. The valley is a semi-arid region that is entirely groundwater dependent for domestic use
and agricultural production. In 2002 the Guadalupe Aquifer was listed by the federal water
agency ConAgua as an overexploited aquifer with projections of conditions worsening from
“low” to “extremely low” availability by 2025. Viticulture consumes ~60% of the groundwater
and supplies 90% of Mexico's domestic wine. Plans are developing to double viticulture
production over the next 20 years increasing the demand on already scarce groundwater
resources. In 1999 the Baja state water authority (CESP) established in Guadalupe Valley a
governance role for the local groundwater user association (COTAS). However, since the
inception of COTAS, the association functions mostly as an advisory body with inadequate
represensation at groundwater management planning meetings and compliance with groundwater
regulations. Guadalupe Valley is a socially diverse agrarian community of ejidal and indigenous
communal landowners and Mexican and foreign private landowners. Preliminary interviews that
I conducted with 15 heterogenous groundwater users in Guadalupe Valley Summer 2010
revealed the salience felt by the community of maintaining groundwater resources for the
survival of the community, and eagerness to participate in this study.
In socially heterogenous communities, like Guadalupe Valley, governance arrangements
that effectively account for the diversity of attributes of the resource user may be difficult to
craft, resulting in inadequate cooperation and institutional failure (Ostrom 2001). Others find that
social diversity can enhance innovation and thus improve institutional resiliency through the
availability of a variety of knowledge forms and experiences (Rogers et al. 2005). Previous
research on social inequality and community-based environmental management have been
mostly empirical evaluations and therefore cannot indicate the degree of influence of diverse
societies on cooperation or identify the most relevant dimensions. I propose to address this gap
by combining qualitative and quantitative data using a common framework of Social-Ecological
Systems (SES) to organize and measure findings (Ostrom 2009).
Research Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine the role of social heterogeneity as
either an impediment or enhancement to institutional success, and identify the most significant
inequities in water management in Guadalupe Valley, Mexico. My primary research objectives
are: (1) Identify and measure the key dimensions of social heterogeneity, the associated attitudes
and behaviors (2) Assess institutional structure and groundwater pumping rates (3) Correlate
these features with biophysical properties of the groundwater via GIS. I expect to find inequities
in resource access that impact users perceptions and thus decisions to self-organize. A
comparative study of community-based governance in Mexico and the US will illuminate the
role of social heterogeneity between the agronomically similar but culturally and politicaleconomically distinct regions. Because viticulture increases the value of groundwater, conflict
and competition for the resource may intensify and magnify inequities. A comparison of two
viticulture regions will show the relevance of the type of resource being produced in relation to
the socio-political and economic context. The results from this research will contribute to SES
research on cooperation and social heterogeneity in general and literature on IWRM outcomes in
Mexico and the US specifically. Research findings will be presented to the groundwater users
association and the community through a short written report and public forums that will
hopefully facilitate community involvement and future planning for the long-term sustainability
of the groundwater and agricultural community.
Methodology: This research project will study the role of social inequality through interview
and survey of 65 groundwater users who are representative of different socio-economic sectors
and cultural backgrounds in Guadalupe Valley. Interview and survey questions will assess
differentials in individual’s knowledge of groundwater resources, perceptions of inequity,
behaviors such as water management, opinions of current policies and laws to name a few.
Interview and survey questions will be based on information I gathered during extensive
qualitative interviews of 15 groundwater users, COTAS officials and professors at the University
Autonoma of Baja California conducted in Mexico Fall 2009 and Summer 2010. The key
variables I will examine are: length of residency, location to resource and socio-economic
attributes of user. Through attendance at groundwater association meetings I will be able to
observe who is participating, how meetings are conducted and the interactions of community
members in order to identify the role of social inequity in the institutional process. Quantitative
analysis of the social-ecological variables will be incorporated into narratives of political
economy and water resource history of Guadalupe Valley in comparison to Sonoma Valley. I
plan on spending the first three months of the grant period (September-December 2011)
attending association meetings and various community events in preparation for quantitative
interviews. From January–May 2012 I will conduct interviews of local groundwater users,
association officials and local university experts. This project will be conducted in collaboration
with my university advisor and post-doc who are both specialists in this field of study. Through
my preliminary work done in Guadalupe Valley I have gained the support of the University of
Baja California, Mexico, COTAS and the Guadalupe Valley community. By carrying out this
project and sharing my experience and published works in both Mexico and the US, I hope to
contribute to the Fulbright Program’s vision of intercultural exchange, to make a contribution to
debates that are important to my host country and to advance my professional development as an
educator and consultant for community-based environmental governance.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Global Water Partnership, 2000. Integrated Water Resource Management. TAC Background Paper, 4(67).
Ostrom, E., 2009. A General Framework for Analyzing Sustainability of Social-Ecological Systems. Science,
325(5939), 419-422.
Ostrom, E., 2001. Reformulating the Commons. In In:Burger, J., Ostrom, E., Norgaard, R.B., Policansky, D. and
Goldstein, B.D. (eds). Protecting the Commons: A Framework for Resoource Management in the Americas.
Washington, D.C: Island Press, pp. pp. 17-41.
Rogers, E.M. et al., 2005. Complex adaptive systems and the diffusion of innovations. The Innovation Journal: The
Public Sector Innovation Journal, 10(3), 1–26.