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Modeling Sustainability of Water, Environment, Livelihood, and Culture in Traditional Irrigation Communities and Their Linked Watersheds

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Author Info

  • Alexander Fernald

    () (College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University, P.O. Box 30003, MSC 3-I, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA, Sandia National Laboratories, P.O. Box 5800, Albuquerque, NM 87185, USA)

  • Vincent Tidwell

    () (College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University, P.O. Box 30003, MSC 3-I, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA, Sandia National Laboratories, P.O. Box 5800, Albuquerque, NM 87185, USA)

  • José Rivera

    () (College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University, P.O. Box 30003, MSC 3-I, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA, Sandia National Laboratories, P.O. Box 5800, Albuquerque, NM 87185, USA)

  • Sylvia Rodríguez

    () (College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University, P.O. Box 30003, MSC 3-I, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA, Sandia National Laboratories, P.O. Box 5800, Albuquerque, NM 87185, USA)

  • Steven Guldan

    () (College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University, P.O. Box 30003, MSC 3-I, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA, Sandia National Laboratories, P.O. Box 5800, Albuquerque, NM 87185, USA)

  • Caitriana Steele

    () (College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University, P.O. Box 30003, MSC 3-I, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA, Sandia National Laboratories, P.O. Box 5800, Albuquerque, NM 87185, USA)

  • Carlos Ochoa

    () (College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University, P.O. Box 30003, MSC 3-I, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA, Sandia National Laboratories, P.O. Box 5800, Albuquerque, NM 87185, USA)

  • Brian Hurd

    () (College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University, P.O. Box 30003, MSC 3-I, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA, Sandia National Laboratories, P.O. Box 5800, Albuquerque, NM 87185, USA)

  • Marquita Ortiz

    () (College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University, P.O. Box 30003, MSC 3-I, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA, Sandia National Laboratories, P.O. Box 5800, Albuquerque, NM 87185, USA)

  • Kenneth Boykin

    () (College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University, P.O. Box 30003, MSC 3-I, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA, Sandia National Laboratories, P.O. Box 5800, Albuquerque, NM 87185, USA)

  • Andres Cibils

    () (College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University, P.O. Box 30003, MSC 3-I, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA, Sandia National Laboratories, P.O. Box 5800, Albuquerque, NM 87185, USA)

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    Abstract

    Water scarcity, land use conversion and cultural and ecosystem changes threaten the way of life for traditional irrigation communities of the semi-arid southwestern United States. Traditions are strong, yet potential upheaval is great in these communities that rely on acequia irrigation systems. Acequias are ancient ditch systems brought from the Iberian Peninsula to the New World over 400 years ago; they are simultaneously gravity flow water delivery systems and shared water governance institutions. Acequias have survived periods of drought and external shocks from changing economics, demographics, and resource uses. Now, climate change and urbanization threaten water availability, ecosystem functions, and the acequia communities themselves. Do past adaptive practices hold the key to future sustainability, or are new strategies required? To explore this issue we translated disciplinary understanding into a uniform format of causal loop diagrams to conceptualize the subsystems of the entire acequia-based human-natural system. Four subsystems are identified in this study: hydrology, ecosystem, land use/economics, and sociocultural. Important linkages between subsystems were revealed as well as variables indicating community cohesion (e.g., total irrigated land, intensity of upland grazing, mutualism). Ongoing work will test the conceptualizations with field data and modeling exercises to capture tipping points for non-sustainability and thresholds for sustainable water use and community longevity.

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    Bibliographic Info

    Article provided by MDPI, Open Access Journal in its journal Sustainability.

    Volume (Year): 4 (2012)
    Issue (Month): 11 (November)
    Pages: 2998-3022

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    Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:4:y:2012:i:11:p:2998-3022:d:21335

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    Related research

    Keywords: interdisciplinary model; sustainability; natural and human system dynamics; hydrology; ecology; economics; culture;

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    1. Cox, Michael & Ross, Justin M., 2011. "Robustness and vulnerability of community irrigation systems: The case of the Taos valley acequias," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 61(3), pages 254-266, May.
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