DISES: Water and Community Resilience Through Spatial Integration of Ecohydrological Processes and Traditional Sociocultural Knowledge

New Mexico State University, Las Cruces NM

Investigators

Abstract

Traditional irrigation systems of northern New Mexico, also known as acequias, embody integrated socio-environmental systems—they are at once physical surface water delivery structures and community water management organizations. Because acequias rely on diversions from rivers and streams, they are acutely vulnerable to variable surface water availability. In region subject to periodic water scarcity, acequias’ resilience has historically hinged on maintaining inherent connectivities—between surface water and groundwater, between irrigated landscapes and contributing watersheds, and among community members¬ with different levels of involvement in water management. New seemingly existential threats challenge acequias’ resilience. These include reduced snowmelt runoff due to climate change, residential expansion into previously farmed and wild lands, tourism and recreation development, reduced youth involvement in agriculture, forest health impacted by drought and wildfire, and reduced community involvement in water management. These challenges will require new adaptations to maintain resilience of acequia-irrigated farmlands, their associated communities, and contributing watersheds. Building on two decades of partnership, this project is an innovative research collaboration between local stakeholders and university researchers at the highest level of community engagement where the direction of the study is community-led in problem definition, identification of existing system drivers, and resilience scenario development. This project will support a new set of community adaptations for the 21st century; these could transform water and land management as well as the legal and political webs of support for healthy and productive communities and landscapes. New knowledge generated in this project will be disseminated through formal and informal channels, including scientific, extension, and outreach publications, content in university coursework, and community meetings and workshops. The project will employ an innovative convergence research approach that integrates biophysical and social sciences into Ecohydrologic and Social (EHS) science. The research process includes: 1) data collection to characterize ecohydrological processes and social fabric, 2) cellular automata-derived integrated indices to model spatial integrations of water use and availability, 3) future scenarios based on climate, management, and social inputs, 4) outreach to inform community members, decision makers, and other researchers, and 5) community feedback to refine the research and accelerate the impact. Advances in socioenvironmental system resilience will be achieved by going beyond potentially separate sociohydrology and hydrosocial systems methods to craft a fully integrated EHS approach. This research focuses on community prioritized resilience of water, agriculture, communities, and ecosystems in three distinct Water-User-Nourished Watershed (WUN Watershed) socio-environmental systems of northern New Mexico over range of wet to dry baseline conditions. Lessons learned from this project conducted in traditional agriculture systems of northern New Mexico will provide critical understanding to guide adaptation to social changes and climate change to have an impact on resilience of other similar WUN Watershed socioenvironmental systems worldwide. This project is jointly funded by the Dynamics of Integrated Socio-Environmental Systems program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.