Welcome and Introductions

Alejandro Ricardo Femat Flores, Director, Institute for Scientific and Technological Research (IPICYT)

Vaughan Turekian, Senior Director, Office of Science and Technology for Sustainability, and Executive Director, Policy and Global Affairs, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

José Luis Morán Lopez, President, Academia Mexicana de Ciencias

Christopher Scott (Steering Committee Chair), University of Arizona

Purpose of the Workshop

Motivation for the Workshop

Christopher Scott (Steering Committee Chair)

José Franco, Foro Consultivo Científico y Tecnológico

Brief synopses of the May 2016 U.S. National Academies Binational Workshop on Building Resilience of the U.S.-Mexico Drylands Region, the November 2017 planning meeting in Mexico City for this sustainability workshop, and other project activities leading up to this binational workshop.

Unpacking the Term “Transboundary Region”

María Amparo Martínez Arroyo (Steering Committee Member), Instituto Nacional de Ecología y Cambio Climático

Robert Washington-Allen (Steering Committee Member), University of Nevada, Reno

What is meant by the term, what areas, ecosystems and populations are included in the definition, and why is it important to consider the region as a whole?

What We Know about Sustainability in the Region

Key Sustainability Challenges and Vulnerabilities

Christopher Scott (Steering Committee Chair)

Addressing U.S. and Mexico water management (binational allocation and policy challenges, irrigation, surface and groundwater, desalination).

Existing Research

Angelina Martínez Yrizar, UNAM

Identifying binational and regional research approaches that are already in place.

Main Areas of Focus | Overview of Workshop Structure

Hallie Eakin (Steering Committee Member), Arizona State University

Elisabeth Huber-Sannwald (Steering Committee Member), IPICYT

Dryland areas in the transboundary region share several unique characteristics. The movement of water, people, species, goods and services across the border and throughout the region creates interactions that can have positive and negative sustainability implications. The drylands are affected by the paradox of experiencing both an abundance of cultural and ecological richness and an acute scarcity of other precious natural resources. Likewise, they face high environmental variability and extremes that co-occur with abrupt policy changes and market volatility. The challenges and opportunities for sustainable solutions throughout the region will require coordination and collaboration at a variety of levels—local, national, binational, and beyond.

Main Areas of Focus

• Interaction and Flow of Resources, People, and Services
• Scarcity and Abundance of Biotic and Cultural Resources
• Environmental, Political, Socioeconomic, Cultural, Technological Shocks and Stressors
• Governance and Innovation

Overview of Knowledge Café Breakout Sessions

We will spend the afternoon diving deeper into each of the above four main focus areas. The group will split into working groups, covering two of the focus areas concurrently during the first time block and two more

during the second. Each working group will consist of at least two members of the planning committee and one facilitator and one rapporteur. The working groups will be conducted “Knowledge Café” style, meaning that the majority of the session will be spent in collaborative discussion between all participants. The goal is to collect substantive input on each topic that will potentially inform future sustainability efforts in these areas.

All Participants Proceed to Knowledge Café Session 1 or 2

1. Interaction and Flow of Resources, People, and Services
   • Rosario Sanchez, Texas A&M University
   • José Luis Castro Ruíz, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte
2. Scarcity and Abundance of Biotic and Cultural Resources
   • Jadwiga Ziolkowska, University of Oklahoma
   • Natalia Martínez Tagüeña (Steering Committee Member), IPICYT

Knowledge Café Session 3 or 4

3. Environmental, Political, Socioeconomic, Cultural, Technological Shocks and Stressors
   • Doug Liden, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
   • Jorge Morán Escamilla, El Colegio de San Luis
4. Governance and Innovation
   • Ismael Aguilar Barajas, Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey
   • Jurgen Schmandt, University of Texas at Austin

Synthesis of Knowledge Cafés: Recap and Future Priorities

Discussion of the major themes from Thursday’s breakout groups and consider topics and priorities for future research. Facilitators from Knowledge Cafés will moderate these discussions.

Innovations and Solutions in Sustainability Science for Drylands Areas

Constantino Macías Garcia (Steering Committee Member), UNAM, Moderator Presenters:

• Jeff Herrick, U.S. Department of Agriculture
• Elizabeth Weight, U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• Laureano Alvarez, North American Development Bank

Discussion on new approaches to sustainability that could benefit (or are already being implemented in) the drylands region.