In an article published recently in Natural Resources Journal, CHRISTOPHER SCOTT, associate research professor at the Udall Center and associate professor in the School of Geography and Development, and co-author Martin Pasqualetti of Arizona State University, describe the interconnection between water and energy -- water is used to produce energy and energy is used to deliver water -- in the semi-arid, rapidly urbanizing borderlands of Arizona and Sonora.

The authors presented their paper, "Energy and water resources scarcity: Critical infrastructure for growth and economic development in Arizona and Sonora," at a symposium, "The Water-Energy Conundrum: Water Constraints on New Energy Development in the Southwest," held last year in Albuquerque and sponsored by the University of New Mexico School of Law.

To view a copy of the article online, click here.

To learn more about Scott's work on the water-energy nexus, click here.

In the May 2011 issue of Ambio: A Journal of the Human Environment, LAURA LOPEZ-HOFFMAN, assistant research professor at the Udall Center and assistant professor in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment, and co-authors David Breshears at the UA and Lisa Graumlich at the University of Washington, provide a conceptual framework of options for stakeholder reliant on ecosystem services that might suddenly disappear or diminish due to catastrophic and large-scale ecosystem changes.

In their paper, "When ecosystem services crash: Preparing for big, fast, patch climate change," the researchers suggest that under such ecological "crashes," the adaptive capacity and vulnerability of stakeholders will be related to how portable the service is that they receive and how flexible the stakeholders are in terms of being able to locate to where the service still might be available. The researchers also suggest a possible role for cooperative networks that might increase resilience of ecosystem service delivery across large regions.

To view a copy of the article, click here.

To learn more about Lopez-Hoffman's work on ecosystem services, click here.
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ROBERT VARADY, Udall Center deputy director,

presented two talks this past April in Paris. At the UNESCO meeting of ISARM (Internationally Shared Aquifer Resources Management) experts, he presented the talk, "Ideas for ISARM's Vision for Good Policies and Governance." At the UNESCO International Hydrological Progamme meeting on groundwater governance, he presented the paper (co-authored by Christopher Scott and Sharon Megdal), "Groundwater Policy and Governance: Ideas for a White Paper."

 MIRIAM JORGENSEN, NNI director of research, presented the talk, "The U.S. Urban Indigenous Populations(s): Characteristics, Concerns, and Governance Arrangements," on a panel, "Urban Indigenous Populations," at the International Indigenous Safety Seminar sponsored by the International Centre for the Prevention of Crime held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in March. In April, she was appointed as Expert Panelist for the Urban Institute Assessment of Native American, Alaskan Native and Hawaiian Housing Needs, 2011-2012, which convened its first meeting in April.

 ANNE BROWNING-AIKEN, Udall Center senior researcher, presented a paper (co-authored by Bruce Gungle of the USGS), "Watershed Data, Hydrologic Indicators, and the Quest for Sustainable Groundwater Use in the Upper San Pedro River, Arizona" at a meeting about river conservation and restoration held in South Korea and organized by the UNESCO HELP (Hydrology for the Environment, Life and Policy) Steering Committee.
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