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COLORADO RIVER DELTA BI-NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM PROCEEDINGS ENGLISH 20 grows, water is increasingly in demand. Histori- cally human settlement was dependent on the availability of clean water and that a lack of preservation of this source led to the disappear- ance of different ethnic groups. It is for this reason that close attention must be paid in the 21"1 Century to water quality problems arising from pollution. People tend to take water for granted. However, there are agencies and individuals committed to solving problems through a joint vision without borders. The Governor's office realizes its strengths and weaknesses but stressed that water prob- lems are a high priority and will require ad- dressing at federal, state and local levels. .~ State of Baja has invested substantial amounts of ..-..........-.- -------.-..----. ~solve challenges surrounding drink:lItg water, sewage and other ~ater systems. But goodwill is not enough and there is no magic formula to solving problems. Instead, hard work and perseverance are needed to plan for the short, medium and long-term. This includes community participation. It is better to add than to subtract. PANEL 1 - LEGAL & INSTITUTIONAL LAWS AND INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS JIM DAVENPORT COLORADO RIVER COMMISSION OF NEVADA: Mr. Davenport began by discussing the three categories of law with which the conference should be concerned: national, bi-national and international. However, the jurisprudential foundations are different between those three, particularly with regard to the means and extent in which violations are sanctioned. National - laws of the U.S. and Mexico can be enforced ----- ~ €rough th~estic judicial systems of the ~pective coun!rfes. ~ Using the 1944 U.S./Mexico Boundary and Water Treaty as an example, bi-nationallaw c~n be enforced by courts in eithf'I. ~ the --......... locale where the persons or institutions against whom enforcement is intended reside. Such laws are more typically enforced through diplomatic or arbitrational means. International law, or laws describing the ~ -- :..-..-- ~ccepted behavior of persons or institutions, notwithstanding national residence, exist as custom or internatigDi:J1 agreement, which.aJ;e ~. Most are not enforceable except through <~~~:..or in some instances, internationally agreed upon tribunals. Comity, or the courtesy and friendship of nations, is marked by mutual recognition of executive, legislative and judicial acts.