Investigating Management of Transboundary Waters through Cooperation: A Serious Games Case Study of the Hueco Bolson Aquifer in Chihuahua, Mexico and Texas, United States

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...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Water (Basel) 2021-08, Vol.13 (15), p.2001
Main Authors: Mayer, Alex, Heyman, Josiah, Granados-Olivas, Alfredo, Hargrove, William, Sanderson, Mathew, Martinez, Erica, Vazquez-Galvez, Adrian, Alatorre-Cejudo, Luis Carlos
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquifer management
Aquifers
Case studies
Computer & video games
Cooperation
Decision making
Depletion
Educational software
Games
Groundwater
Hydrology
Knowledge
Nationalism
Surface water
Water resources
Workshops
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Summary: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.
ISSN:2073-4441
2073-4441
DOI:10.3390/w13152001