Colorado River Basin Governance, Decision Making, and Alternative Approaches

摘要

The Colorado River Basin supports agricultural, municipal, industrial, and environmental uses in seven states in the United States and in Mexico. This highly overallocated basin faces significant challenges in managing water and environmental resources under a complex set of compacts, federal laws, court decisions, decrees, contracts, and regulatory guidelines know collectively as the "Law of the River". This paper highlights several key physical and institutional challenges facing the basin and summarizes the existing institutional processes in place for governance and decision making. The discussion encourages a more holistic approach to management of the Colorado River by integrating management and decision-making from the current program-specific management approach.