US-Mexico borderland water conflicts and institutional change: A commentary

This commentary describes and analyzes important areas of change in the pol itics of water along the U.S.-Mexico border. First, if focuses on the broad er nature of the border region as a way of framing the discussion of water. It then addresses the matter of water policy itself. The commentary provid es an overview of recent changes in Mexican wafer institutions, as well as an overview of new bilateral and trilateral water management agencies and o ther recent developments in border management. It discusses how each of the three articles in this section of the Journal, "Borderland Water Conflicts and Institutional Change," contributes to thinking about the complexities of water management along the border. The article by Wilder demonstrates th e scope and the limitations of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation , while the articles by Michel and by Brown and Mumme suggest new organizat ional frameworks for addressing conflicts over water management along the b order.