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840 NATURALRESOURCES/OURNAL [Vol. 40 Fall 2000] Instituto TecnolOgico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (lTESM) have made appreciable efforts to increase the body of knowledge concerning Delta ecosystems, economies, and communities. Governments and NGOs alike depend on the work of these individuals and institutions to provide credible, scientific data. MANAGING ECOSYSTEM CONSERVATION 841 4. Tribes, Basin States, and Local Communities Beyond the national government agencies, numerous authorities playa role in Colorado River management. In the United States, 34 Indian reservations are located in the Colorado basin. Twenty-seven tribes have undeveloped Colorado River water rights that date to the establishment of their reservations or to more recent court decisions.91 Together these tribes assert rights to more than two million acre-feet of water,92 but little has been developed. Many tribes are looking for ways to secure economic benefits from their entitlements other than traditional water supply development. For example, the ten tribes of the Colorado River Tribal Partnership formed a coalition to secure, develop, and market their water rights.93 State and local governments also playa role in Colorado River management. The seven Colorado River basin states in the United States (Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming) wield considerable decision-making power over water allocations, flows, storage, management of endangered species concerns, and environmental restoration. The two Mexican states (Baja California and Sonora) playa more limited role, with most decision-making authority resting with the CNA.94 Local communities in the Delta region as yet have a limited voice. 5. Non-Governmental Organizations Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the United States and Mexico have worked to conserve the Delta's ecosystem by advocating for management improvements within both federal governments, gathering baseline ecological data, and educating the public. A significant number of U.S. and Mexican NGOs have advocated for conservation of the Colorado . River delta, including PRONA TURA Sonora; the Intercultural Center for the Study of Deserts and Oceans; the Centro Regional de Estudios Ambientales y Socioecon6micosi Environmental Defense;95 the Sonoran Institute; the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security; Defenders of Wildlife; the Center for Biological Biodiversity; the Sierra Club; Southwest Rivers; and others. Also of note, two university-based research centers have been the source of important studies documenting current Delta conditions. Faculty at The University of Arizona and at the 6. Institutional Challenges Despite, or perhaps because of, the long list of institutions with some role to play in determining the fate of the Colorado River delta, the ecosystem remains threatened. The institutions governing the management and use of the Colorado River are often at odds, hindering efforts to develop solutions to pressing problems. The early failure of the Law of the River to address tribal and ecological concerns, as well as its foundation upon erroneous hydrologic assumptions, has generated decades of disputes, negotiations, and litigation that appear likely to continue into the foreseeable future. Agencies with conflicting missions resist cooperation and groundwater and surface water and water quantity and water quality are all independently monitored and regulated. The institutional heterogeneity96 that characterizes the agencies listed previously further challenges efforts to address Delta restoration. To date, no one organization or agency has emerged as the forum for a binational effort to protect the Delta, and there is little systematic programming oflong-term commitments by either nation.97 The establishment of the IBWC/ClLA workgroup is an important first step, but it is limited to technical discussions.9s To be successful, an international effort will need to be funded, and will need to operate with a transparency that allows stakeholders in both countries to understand and participate in decisions. Furthermore, the efforts of federal agencies in the United States and Mexico should integrate existing Colorado River delta research and restoration plans, the plans formulated by academics and NGOs from the United States and Mexico, and should expand planning to include economic and cultural preservation concerns. Local communities in the Delta region as yet have a limited voice, C~,.; <::) W W -J 96. See generally Gerald D. Bowden et al., Institutions: Customs, Laws and Organization, in WATER: COMPE111l0NFOR CAUFORNIAALTERNAnvE REsoLU1l0NS 163 (Ernest A. Engelbert ed., 1982). 97. See MUMME, supra note 73, at IV.6.1. See also Stephen Mumme, NAFT A's Environmental Side Agreement: Almost Green?, BoRDERUNES, Oct. 1999, at 1. 98. Possibly, the United States and Mexico will establish a new binational forum under the auspices of the 2000 Joint Declaration to enhance cooperation on the Colorado River delta. See Bruce Babbitt & Julia Carabias, Joint Declaration between the Department of the Interior of the United States of America and the Secretariat of the Environment. Natural Resourca, and Fisheries (SBMARNAP) of the United Mexican States to Enhance Cooperation in the Colorado River Delta (May 18, 2(00) (unpublished document, on file with author). 91. See Pontius, supra note 1, at 72-74. 92. This figure represents rights asserted. by the tribes rather than adjudicated rights. See Kneese &: Bonem. supra note 71, at 97. 93. See Colorado River Tribal Partnership, Position Paper of the Ten Indian Tribes with Water Rights in the Colorado River Basin, reprinted in PON'l1US, supra note I, at app. D. 94. See MUMME, supra note 73, at 1.1. 95. Environxnental Defense was formerly known as the Environmental Defense Fund (BDF).