Multi-tiered Governance of the Rio Grande/Bravo Basin: The Fragmented Water Resources Management Model of the United States and Mexico

The Rio Grande/Bravo (RGB) Basin governing structure is characterized by the absence of a governmental entity providing an entire basin vision. This research argues there is a fragmentation in the basins water resources management (WRM) due to the allocation and distribution regime of surface water between and within both countries. This has caused a hydrological disconnection of the river and the proliferation of stakeholders and institutions that only have partial competence of the WRM. We provide a descriptive analysis of the current WRM, as well as the institutional and organizational framework which clearly exhibits governance fragmentation. A qualitative assessment of interviews conducted with experts in the RGB Basin supports these findings. WRM in the RGB Basin consists of a collection of regional governments that handle only the water resources issues affecting their regional political territory. This multitiered, mosaic governance structure reinforces the hydrologic disconnection within the river, and the fragmentation of the stakeholders.