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Regions & Cohesion is proud to present two photographs by Edith Kauffer that are related to the journal's special section on transboundary waters and river basins. The section includes three articles with focus on water issues at the border between Mexico and the United States in a context of scarcity, with bilateral agreements eventually contested and relatively tense. At the complete opposite of these realities, the following images show the heterogeneity of transboundary river basins at the Mexican borders, particularly in the case with Guatemala.

Abstract

This note presents an account of transboundary basins on a global and regional scale throughout history. The authors introduce the special section on transboundary basins, presenting their constant increase and profound complexity. Regions & Cohesion has shown a permanent interest in this subject, from its first publications and, in particular, with the 2014 special issue that addressed different theoretical, methodological, and case studies in different continents. The three readings that make up this section address contemporary water border contexts and Mexico–U.S. policy where multi- and transdisciplinary challenges continue.

*Full editorial is in Spanish

En la actualidad, las cuencas transfronterizas ocupan cada vez más la atención no solamente de políticos, sino de académicos. La llamada crisis del agua se manifi esta por una presión creciente sobre las cantidades de agua disponibles y una paulatina contaminación del recurso, las cuales se traducen en tensiones y confl ictos en diversas escalas, desde lo local hasta lo internacional. En el caso de las cuencas transfronterizas en particular, el hecho de compartir territorios entre dos o más Estados implica interacciones entre éstos. Esta confi guración geográfi ca puede combinarse con asimetrías económicas, relaciones internacionales históricamente tensas o con una variabilidad climática que produce situaciones extremosas de abundancia y de escasez de agua. Todo ello repercute en la ocurrencia de acciones cooperativas así como en el surgimiento de confl ictos.

Abstract

Since 2005, Mexico has developed a national climate policy aligned with internationally defined parameters. In this article, we analyze the vertical and horizontal coherences in the process of institutionalization of climate policy during the period 1992–2018 in the Usumacinta River Basin, based on the review of laws and actions implemented at national scale, as well as by the federal states and municipalities. The analysis shows vertical coherence at the national-international scale, as well as at the legal level in the state of Chiapas. In terms of horizontal coherence, it points to a series of incoherencies in the state's legal framework and in concrete actions at the river basin scale linked to the vertical incoherencies between the national scale and states located in the river basin.

Between the time when the editors’ note below was written and this issue of Regions & Cohesion went to press, Hurricane Otis battered Acapulco and surrounding villages or communities in Guerrero, Mexico, with sustained winds of 266 km/h — and even stronger gusts hitting up to 330 km/h. Regions & Cohesion has published numerous articles on socioenvironmental sustainability in Acapulco, and a research team from the Universidad Autónoma de Guerrero has even published a recent article on resilience to hurricanes (see Lucero Álvarez et al., 2021). Unfortunately, Acapulco was not prepared for Hurricane Otis, which killed dozens of people, destroyed homes and upended lives, causing over one billion dollars of damage. Three weeks after the hurricane, most of the one million residents of the city remain without food and water. With this note, the editors express our heartfelt solidarity with all the affected people during these difficult times and our commitment to your well-being.

April 2021 is here, one year and a month after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a state of emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic. The vaccines have arrived, bringing us closer to the end of this crisis, but COVID-19 is not gone; therefore, the call for action remains relevant. We want to take this opportunity to remember and embrace the emphasis that has been put on the need for joint efforts and coordinated strategies, so we can thrive together, bringing everyone on board irrespective of geographic, economic, and political differences.

The editorial team at Regions & Cohesion welcomes 2023 with a reflection on the challenges of regional integration at diverse scales, from international relations to very local places and in disparate political arenas. Regional organizations are generally criticized at the moment for a lack of responsiveness to citizen concerns. Our Editors’ Notes over the last two years have highlighted the need for more resilient regionalism that responds to the needs of communities. This is not to say, however, that such regionalism has not existed. Regional integration processes have addressed crises in the past at both the national and local levels.

The global political agenda has included some high-profile environmental summits over the past few months. Three of these events stand out. The 2022 United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, was held from 6–20 November 2022. This was followed from 7–19 December 2022 by the UN Biodiversity Conference in Montréal, Canada, and the UN-Water Summit at UN Headquarters in New York City from 22–24 March 2023. Of these three events, the Biodiversity Summit made the most impact as delegates committed to protecting 30% of land and 30% of coastal and marine areas by 2030. This pledge is remarkable because it re-establishes political commitments to protect biodiversity, which is a key component of climate action. At the same time, many observers of the summit questioned how nation-states will implement this goal. Like the SDGs, the “30 by 30” commitment is long on aspirations but short on operationalization details. This observation is not a criticism of the agreement per se but a recognition of the challenges preventing ambitious biodiversity conservation plans from being fully implemented.