Transboundary environmental management: A study of the Abbotsford‐Sumas aquifer in British Columbia and western Washington

Abstract Political borders, which delineate divergent political, social, economic, and demographic systems, affect the management of shared natural resources. Transboundary environmental management will attract increasing global attention as trends of population growth and natural resource scarcity drive coordinated solutions for environmental problems. Water pollution, in particular, will be a high priority for many nations because of the undisputed importance of water to sustain life and the unyielding characteristic of water to flow freely across political borders. The study of the Abbotsford‐Sumas aquifer offers a model to investigate the nature of shared resource management problems within two divergent cultural regions (western Washington and southern British Columbia), bisected by a political boundary (U.S.‐Canada border). Using the newly developed Transboundary Environmental Management Index (TEMI), the coordinated management of the organizations was ranked according to their “institutional capacity.” The research found that groups representing smaller regions were more likely to reduce pollution inputs, however, the community‐based success was largely contingent on the higher‐level political groups to recognize, support, and fund scientific research.

[1]  Snezana Lawrence.  October , 1855, The Hospital.

[2]  Donald K. Alper.  The Idea of Cascadia: Emergent Transborder Regionalisms in the Pacific Northwest-Western Canada , 1996 .

[3]  Donald K. Alper.  Transboundary Environmental Relations in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest , 1997 .

[4]  B. Zebarth,et al.  The effect of nitrogen management in agricultural production on water and air quality: evaluation on a regional scale , 1999 .

[5]  David L. Markell,et al.  Greening NAFTA: The North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation , 2003 .

[6]  M. P. Marchak.  Environment and Resource Protection , 1998 .

[7]  L. Wassenaar.  Evaluation of the origin and fate of nitrate in the Abbotsford Aquifer using the isotopes of15N and18O in NO3 , 1995 .

[8]  Jagath J. Kaluarachchi,et al.  IMPLICATIONS OF ON‐GROUND NITROGEN LOADING AND SOIL TRANSFORMATIONS ON GROUND WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT 1 , 2004 .

[9]  D. Palumbo,et al.  Implementation and the Policy Process: Opening Up the Black Box , 1990 .

[10]  Jagath J. Kaluarachchi,et al.  Assessment and management of long-term nitrate pollution of ground water in agriculture-dominated watersheds , 2004 .

[11]  B. Zebarth,et al.  Agricultural land use practices and nitrate contamination in the Abbotsford Aquifer, British Columbia, Canada , 1998 .

[12]  Sue C. Kahle,et al.  Hydrogeology, ground-water quality, and sources of nitrate in lowland glacial aquifers of Whatcom County, Washington, and British Columbia, Canada , 1999 .

[13]  George W. Towers.  Applying the Political Geography of Scale: Grassroots Strategies and Environmental Justice , 2000 .

[14]  Donald K. Alper,et al.  Regional Transboundary Negotiations Leading to the Skagit River Treaty: Analysis and Future Application , 1986 .