ASSESSING NORTH-AMERICA MANAGEMENT OF ITS TRANSBOUNDARY WATERS

The United States, Mexico and Canada have relied on two commissions to reconcile disputes over their international boundary waters for nearl y 100 years. The International Joint Commission (U.S.-Canada) and the International Boundary and Water Commission (U.S.-Mexico) have been mo del organizations, but little is known of them. Recently their success es have been challenged by change due to population growth, industrial ization, greater demands on jointly owned resources and shifting tradi ng patterns. The Project considers 9 issues of overriding importance t o prepare the Commissions for the future. Project data relies on three sources: (1) A trinational conference of seventy leaders and 12 commi ssioned papers, (2) proposals in the public record over two decades, ( 3) an assessment of recent societal change.