Border Oasis: Water and the Political Ecology of the Colorado River Delta, 1940–1975

by Evan R. Ward

The environmental history of the Colorado River delta during the past century is one of the most important—and most neglected—stories of the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands. Thanks to entrepreneurs such as William E. Smythe, the surrounding desert in Arizona, California, Sonora, and Baja California has been transformed into an agricultural oasis, but not without significant ecological, political, economic, and social consequences.

Evan Ward explores the rapid development of this region, examining the ways in which regional politics and international relations created a garden in the Mexicali, Yuma, and Imperial Valleys while simultaneously threatening the life of the Colorado River. Tracing the transformation of the delta by irrigated agribusiness through the twentieth century, he draws on untapped archival resources from both sides of the border to offer a new look at one of the world's most contested landscapes.

Border Oasis tells how two very different nations developed the delta into an agricultural oasis at enormous environmental cost. Focusing on the years 1940 to 1975—including the disastrous salinity crisis of the 1960s and 1970s—it combines Mexican, Native American, and U.S. perspectives to demonstrate that the political and diplomatic influences on the delta played as much a part in the region's transformation as did irrigation. Ward reveals how mistrust among political and economic participants has been fueled by conflict between national and local officials on both sides of the border, by Mexican nationalism, and by a mutual recognition that water is the critical ingredient for regional economic development.

With overemphasis on development in both nations leading to an ecological breaking point, Ward demonstrates that conflicting interests have made sound binational management of the delta nearly impossible. By weaving together all of these threads that have produced the fabric of today's lower Colorado, his study shows that the environmental history of the delta must be understood as a whole, not from the standpoint of only one of many competing interests.

240 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2003

Reviews

[William X. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The environmental history of the border region between the United States and Mexico is a topic that is relatively untouched upon, yet the area serves as a very interesting case in the field of political ecology. In Evan R. Ward’s Border Oasis, he focuses on this area, the Colorado River Delta, and the impact of water in the years of 1945 to 1975. Environmentalists and historians in particular would find Ward’s analysis intriguing in how the area has changed over time due to the impact of water and its availability within the region. Ward mainly highlights the causes and effects of surrounding the reshaping and alteration of the Colorado River Delta in his book, some of which are key themes in political ecology as a whole, including scarcity and conflict over resources. Ward argues that the main reason that Delta has changed so much throughout the 20th century was largely due to the overall availability of water and fights between the US and Mexico over the supply of water.

In Ward’s book, he frequently brings up the conflict of the two countries of Mexico and the United States. The main conflict revolved around the water distribution of the Rio Colorado which lied in between the countries. Ward cited many events in history to support his claim, such as the United States’ enactment of several large-scale projects to control water flow. The US built dams and hydraulic systems that controlled water flow around the delta, which unevenly distributed the water of the Colorado River Delta between the US and Mexico. Naturally, being on the losing end of the deal, Mexico raised their voice to fight against their unfavorable circumstance. Despite the delta being a “binational or integrated region”, meaning it belongs to both countries, the United States were able to draw out much more from the Colorado River Delta than Mexico could. As such, the United States frequently experienced complaints and conflicts that involved protests and sometimes even acts of violence near the borders of Mexico. To resolve these conflicts, the US was left with no choice but to listen and acknowledge some sort of relationship with Mexico in regard to the area of the Colorado River Delta. Ward describes the US’s attempt to resolve this conflict as a “a bilateral pursuit for economic independence within the context of asymmetrical interdependence” (Ward 20). As a result, both countries drastically changed the land around the delta so it would be beneficial for both countries, reshaping the land to protect the nearby farmers from floods as well as to provide a source of irrigation for the agriculture being developed.

Given the trouble and effort both countries had to put up with in order to secure themselves a better position in regard to the Colorado River Delta, it leads one to ask: was it really worth it to spend so much time and endure all that conflict over a small piece of land? Ward argues effectively that it was in fact very worth it for both countries. Water as a natural resource is scarce to begin with, and the neighboring states were actually very dependent on the delta as a source for their water. Losing out on the accessibility to the delta would disrupt not only economic activities, but the livelihood of many families in the area. As such, the issue was dragged into the field of political ecology, where leaders had to compromise to find a resolution over the availability of the water of the Colorado River Delta. Furthermore, this scramble over natural resources eventually became the catalyst for the “reordering the political, economic, and ecological relationships between human and nonhuman communities throughout the river basin” (Ward 116). Because it became established that the area was significant enough to warrant conflicts among humans, establishing rules as to how to deal with animals and plants that resided in the area was a natural follow-up.

Ward’s overall argument about the significance of the conflict between Mexico and the US over the Colorado River Delta was well structured and powerful. By addressing a few key points and referencing them repeatedly throughout his book, he drives home the importance of those recurring themes, such as limited resources and conflict that arises in the field of political ecology. The author included multiple maps, references to history, as well as statistics to further back his points, strengthening his overall argument. The author split his book into six main chapters, a format that effectively demonstrated how he wanted to get his points across, starting with a description of the history of the early 1900s, following up with some issues that arose between the US and Mexico and their corresponding solutions, and finally connecting the dots by referencing major themes of political ecology. Ward effectively encapsulates his arguments within these six chapters and displays a thorough understanding of the topic at hand, conveying the themes of availability of natural resources and violence that arises in political ecology.