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ARS Home » Plains Area » Bushland, Texas » Conservation and Production Research Laboratory » Soil and Water Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #416988
Research Project: Dryland and Irrigated Crop Management Under Limited Water Availability and Drought

Location: Soil and Water Management Research

Title: Moving from measurement to governance of shared groundwater resources

Author
item SCHIPANSKI, MEAGAN - Colorado State University
item SANDERSON, MATTHEW - Kansas State University
item MENDEZ-BARRIENTOS, LINDA ESTELI - University Of Denver
item KREMEN, AMY - Colorado State University
item Gowda, Prasanna
item PORTER, DANA - Texas A&M Agrilife
item WAGNER, KEVIN - Oklahoma State University
item WEST, CHARLES - Texas Tech University
item RICE, CHARLES - Kansas State University
item MARSALIS, MARK - New Mexico State University
item GUERRERO, BRIDGET - West Texas A & M University
item HAACKER, ERIN - University Of Nebraska
item DOBROWOLSKI, JAMES - National Institute Of Food And Agriculture (NIFA)
item RAY, CHITTARANJAN - University Of Nebraska
item AUVERMANN, BRENT - Texas A&M Agrilife

Submitted to: Nature Water
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/24/2022
Publication Date: 1/19/2023
Citation: Schipanski, M.E., Sanderson, M.R., Mendez-Barrientos, L., Kremen, A., Gowda, P.H., Porter, D.O., Wagner, K., West, C., Rice, C.W., Marsalis, M., Guerrero, B., Haacker, E., Dobrowolski, J., Ray, C., Auvermann, B. 2023. Moving from measurement to governance of shared groundwater resources. Nature Water. 1:30-36. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-022-00008-x.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-022-00008-x

Interpretive Summary: As depletion of the Ogallala aquifer affects more farming populations and surrounding communities, it is understandable that one would question the effectiveness of federal and state research efforts aimed at improving irrigation methods and management, finding alternatives to irrigated production, and understanding the aquifer hydrology and connection to climate change. Scientists from Colorado State University, Kansas State University, Texas A&M AgriLife, and USDA ARS reviewed the literature and concluded that groundwater management was fundamentally a governance issue. They recommended shifts in research, extension, and policy priorities towards sustaining communities dependent on the aquifer.

Technical Abstract: Global groundwater resources are under strain, with cascading effects on producers, food and fibre production systems, communities, and ecosystems. Investments in biophysical research have clarified the challenges, catalysed a proliferation of technological solutions, and supported incentivizing individual irrigators to adjust practices. However, groundwater management is fundamentally a governance challenge. The reticence to prioritize building governance capacity represents a critical ‘blind spot’ contributing to a low return on investment for research funding with negative consequences for communities moving closer towards resource depletion. In this Perspective, we recommend shifts in research, extension, and policy priorities to build polycentric governance capacity and strategic planning tools, and to reorient priorities to sustaining aquifer-dependent communities in lieu of maximizing agricultural production at the scale of individual farm operations. To achieve these outcomes, groundwater governance needs to be not only prioritized but also democratized.