9319833 Schmandt This U.S.-Mexico award will support a workshop on sustainable development for the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo basin, organized by Dr. Jurgen Schmandt, director of the Center for Global Studies, Houston Advanced Research Center and Professor Salvador Contreras, of the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon. The workshop will help to implement a sustainable development initiative for the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo Basin (SDI). The SDI project involves five U.S. and Mexican basin institutions seeking to encourage improved management of the region's water resources and development options by establishing a network of regional groups responsible for water management and economic development. The objective of the workshop is to develop a detailed plan of action for implementing the findings and recommendations resulting from previous work of the participants. The planned document should serve as the foundation for the future establishment of a coordinated research and policy development program for the basin. A key problem in the region is the frequency of drought and other stressful water-related events. With the worsening depletion of ground water, pollution from mining activity, transfers of water rights from irrigation to municipalities and accelerating industrial development, water problems are likely to become more severe. A basin wide community-based approach to these challenges is vital for the creation of sustainable responses to growth and change. The SDI project aims to provide a long- lasting agenda for this approach. ***
