Properties of Robust Governance of Interstate Waters:

The Case of the Ogallala

Jenna Bednar Department of Political Science

jbednar@umich.edu

Source: B. Basso, MSU

CPR ideal management, Ogallala mismatch

• Clear boundaries, local rule-making, monitoring and graduated sanctioning

• federalism/Interstate conflict of interests, no federal regulation, surface v groundwater law, prior appropriation doctrine, USDA crop insurance, US biofuel subsidies

Robust System Design

• Robustness: system’s ability to recover, perhaps through adaptation, rather than tip to irreversible failed status

• Three analytical tasks: 1. Identify what failure means 2. Characterize how prone to failure the system is 3. Identify adaptive mechanisms

Robust Groundwater Policy--- Let’s Talk!

• Mapping of basin troughs: identify sub-basins for decentralized governance

• Accurate predictions of groundwater decline • Connection between water resource and future

economy (to calculate future loss from current practice)

• Leads on other aquifer management programs

Jenna Bednar Email me: jbednar@umich.edu