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oon521 Near-term recommendations could be implemented within the framework of existing agreements and the law of the river but would require some regulatory and management changes: . Develop better coordination between the United States and Mexico for the management of flood flows. Mexico should be given more notice of impending releases, and management authorities on both sides of the border should look for opportunities to divert and store floodwaters for conservation purposes. IBWC CNA,SEMARNAP-INE . Create or designate a Mexican institution to guaran- tee the delivery of any waters earmarked for environmental restoration to the target ecosystem. This will require the establishment of environmental water rights protected against the demands of irriga- tors. This entity will need to administer and manage water intended for delta ecosystems, determine how it is to be secured (e.g., contract, fee-simple purchase, lease), determine who will hold the water on behalf of the environment, and be accountable to stakehold- ers. (See recommendation below to Establish Market Mechanisms and Funding Sources for Delta Preser- vation.) IBWC CNA,SEMARNAP-INE . Create or designate a binational commission to pro- mote the sustainable use of water in the delta and encourage greater public participation in decisions that effect the lower basin and delta.58 The commis- sion should conduct all necessary and appropriate studies of water needs and use in the delta, establish minimum flow requirements, and make arrange- ments for obtaining reliable water supplies. Such a commission also may be the appropriate entity to assume management and coordination authority over all transboundary water movement. IBWC SEMARNAP-INE CNA BOR . Review the Border XXI program, including its indi- cators, and propose changes that might bring greater benefit to delta ecosystems and the communities that depend on them. EP A . Create a task force on resources in the border region, as proposed by IBWC. This task force should bring together resource agencies, researchers, and private ENViRONi'l,1ENTAl. OFFENSE fUND groups, and should solicit public input to help it define its mission. IBWC CEC . Designate the Rio Hardy fRio Colorado wetlands, which are outside the Biosphere Reserve, as a wild- life management unit. Mexico's National Program for Wildlife Conservation and Rural Productivity Diver- sification provides for a special land designation called the Wildlife Management Unit (SUMA). These areas are designed to protect natural resources while allowing certain economic activities to continue. Effectively, a SUMA can serve as a buffer to areas under greater protection, such as the core zone of the Biosphere Reserve. The Rio Hardy fRio Colorado wetlands can be managed as a SUMA by local communities. SEMARNAP-INE PRONA TURA Long-term recommendations are likely to require changes to the laws and agreements governing water allocation in the Colorado basin, 59 as well as persistence and patience: . Negotiate an amendment to the 1944 water treaty to address water needs for delta ecosystems. This enormous task is not without precedent (the best-known example is Minute 242, which establishes water quality standards). Many compacts and court decisions - in general the Law of the River - have created entitlements to Colorado River water that cannot be ignored. A treaty amendment establishing the use of market mechanisms, plus sufficient fund- ing, would allow change to occur on a voluntary, compensated basis, while recognizing existing entitlements. Yet until United States authorities come to see conservation of delta resources as a matter of high concern, the United States will not give strong support to such an amendment. United States inter- est in the idea may increase if it can be shown that the habitat and wildlife resources in the delta are a significant" reservoir" of species that are endangered in the United States. An amendment supporting con- servation of delta ecosystems will gain even more support if those ecosystems can be used in mitiga- tion programs that offset the loss of species elsewhere in the basin. Pressure on the United States to negotiate an amendment may increase as water 58 Proposal by INE-Programa de Uso Sustentable del Agua en la Cuenca Baja del Rio Colorado, Mexico, April 1997. 59 For information on the Law of the River, see note 15. 43