Lower Colorado River Basin Ecosystem Assessment Case Study

1. Lower Colorado River Basin Ecosystem AssessmentCase Study Mark Lellouch, Karen Hyun, Sylvia Tognetti Sonoran Institute Published by Island Press

2. Sonoran Institutedecisiones comunitarias que respetan la Naturaleza y su Gente Programa del Noroeste de México Dr. Joaquin Murrieta Saldivar Director

3. The Sonoran Institute promotes community decisions that respect the land and people of western North America

5. Human Well-being Indirect Drivers Ecosystem Services Direct Drivers MillenniumAssessment Framework • Indirect Drivers of Change • Demographic • Economic (globalization, trade, market and policy framework) • Sociopolitical (governance and institutional framework) • Science and Technology • Cultural and Religious • Human Well-being and • Poverty Reduction • Basic material for a good life • Health • Good Social Relations • Security • Freedom of choice and action • Inland Water-Ecosystem Services • Provisioning: Food Production, biodiversity • Regulating: Climate regulation, hydrological flows • Cultural: Spiritual, Recreational • Supporting: Soil formation, nutrient cycling • Direct Drivers of Change • Changes in land use • Species introduction or removal • Technology adaptation and use • External inputs (e.g., irrigation) • Resource consumption • Climate change • Natural physical and biological drivers (e.g., volcanoes)

6. MA Inland Water Ecosystem Services • Supporting • Soil formation: sediment retention and accumulation of organic matter • Nutrient cycling: storage, recycling, processing, and acquisition of nutrients • Pollination: support for pollinators

7. The Law of the River • Prior appropriation • Present Perfected Rights • 1922 - The Colorado River Compact • Upper and Lower Basin allocations of 7.5 maf each • 1928 - The Boulder Canyon Act • Hoover Dam and the All-American Canal • 1944 - Treaty with Mexico • 1.5 maf to Mexico

8. Historical Flows of the Colorado River Below All Major Dams and Diversions, 1905-2000

10. The “Unregulated” System • The Delta is currently economically justifiable. • The Delta is not “dead.” • Conservation Priorities - A Map of the Possible • La Ciénega - MODE Canal • Limitrophe and the Riparian Corridor • Andrade Mesa - All-American Canal • Río Hardy - Drainage Water in Mexico

12. Campo Mosqueda • 8 hectáreas de Mesquite • 1,000 árboles plantados con irrigación • La Familia Mosqueda se espera que plante entre 5-10 Has de mesquite en los próximos años

13. Cucapá El Mayor - Campo Flores

14. Campo Ramona 1.5 has de mesquite

15. Proyecto El Tapon por AEURHYC, A.C.

16. Population growth in the Colorado River Basin • Only 6 million people in the Basin, but CR supplies water to 30 million • 8 of the 10 fastest growing cities are in AZ, NV and CA • Top three are in Phoenix and Las Vegas areas • An average of 175 new homes went up in the Phoenix area every day in 2005 • Enough water in AZ for at least another 60 years of growth • Issue is not lack of water but environmental and social costs of unrestricted growth

17. Why look at policy options in the Colorado River Basin? • Highly engineered system, physically controlled by an incredible system of dams and canals • Highly regulated system, institutionally controlled by a system of rigid protocols, rules, laws and an international treaty • Decision makers can improve management of the Colorado River by looking at trade-offs among policies

18. MA Findings Applied to the Lower Colorado Basin • 1. Ecosystem changes in last 50-75 years • Construction of 2 major reservoirs • Flows from Glen Canyon dam now determined by needs of water and power customers downstream rather than natural processes • Tremendous growth of cultivated and urban areas in the Lower Basin • Salt cedar becomes the dominant species along the lower mainstem • River no longer regularly flows into the Sea of Cortez • 2. Gains and losses from ecosystem change • Degradation of ecosystem services • Negative impacts on beaches and native fish and plant species in Grand Canyon • Delta reduced from 1.9 million to 150,000 acres • Salinization of soils in the Mexicali Valley • Exacerbation of poverty for certain groups • Cucapa way of life and culture threatened with extinction • 3. Ecosystem prospects for next 50 years • Depends to a large degree on growth and policy choices • Climate change may drastically reduce flows and raise sea level • Impacts on ecosystems and accompanying services can be mitigated • 4. Reversing ecosystem degradation • Restoration of riparian ecosystem in Grand Canyon and of key elements of Delta ecosystems is possible at a relatively low cost

19. 4 Scenarios to 2050 Dry Future • 39% decrease in flows due to climate change • Limited interstate water market • Continued unrestricted urban growth • No water for ecosystems beyond existing commitments

20. The Market Rules • Interstate storage and delivery of conserved water (Basin States alternative) • Extension of ICS concept to Mexico • Missed opportunity to use market mechanisms to dedicate instream flows to the Delta

21. Powell’s Prophecy • Extension of ICS to Mexico + dedicated environmental flows • Vision for the arid West • Protection of rural landscapes • Managed urban growth • Base and pulse flows for the Delta

22. A Delta and Estuary Once More • Bi-national ecosystem-based management • Restoration of the Delta and estuary • Water conservation in both cities and agriculture

23. Muchas Gracias Joaquin Murrieta Tel. 520.290-0828 joaquin@sonoran.org www.sonoran.org