Acequia symposium examines water rights in relation to climate change, urban growth
Farmers, local leaders and concerned citizens gathered at the Juan I. Gonzales Agricultural Center on Thursday (June 27) for an all-day symposium on local water issues and strategies to combat climate change.The event was hosted by the New Mexico Acequia Association.
Discussions encompassed an array of topics such as maintenance challenges for the historic irrigation ditches, water sharing agreements, climate change and the potential of renewable energy to create jobs for New Mexicans.
An interactive panel titled “Repartimento and Adaptations on the Land” contextualized water issues and related conflicts as having their origins in historical conflicts involving the Taos areas indigenous inhabitants and Spanish colonists, as well as ranchers of Anglo descent.
“That legacy of conflict is so deeply ingrained in our culture,” said Chyna Dixon of the Taos Land Trust after the discussion. “And it isn’t just interpersonal conflict anymore, it’s urban and rural conflict as well.”
Urbanization as a potential source of conflict was a recurring subject of discussion at the symposium.
“You have areas of town where the acequia once flowed that have been covered up with new developments. A lot of folks gave up [farming],” remarked David Munoz, treasurer of the Los Lovatos Acequia, during a breakout session on sustainable farming strategies and water sharing.
Though speakers unequivocally acknowledged the scientific consensus on the human-made causes of climate change, the issue took a back seat to those afflicting New Mexico as a whole.
“New Mexico is in a water crisis right now, regardless of how the climate is changing elsewhere,” said Paula Garcia, executive director of the NMAA. However, Garcia had an optimistic take on New Mexico’s particular vulnerability to these issues, saying they could serve to motivate citizens and lawmakers to become a part of the “New Green Economy,” which she believes not only has the potential to rejuvenate New Mexico’s ailing economy, but to enrich communities by strengthening individual citizens ties to one another and the land itself.
“Our community, our culture, food sovereignty … you can’t put a price on that.”