Email: J.Mendoza-Ramirez2@newcastle.ac.uk

Supervisors: Professor Guy Garrod and Dr Elizabeth Oughton

 

Project Overview

Water, as a finite resource which is essential to all life, is the core element of my research project. The sustainable management of water is a key goal for sustainable development, as reflected in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). My project is based around a case study of a catchment area in Mexico that illustrates the deterioration of ecosystems due to human activities and actions.

My study will analyse decision-making processes across a range of scenarios where economic, environmental and social drivers lead to competing priorities in terms of water use. This is reflected in a multilevel approach where individual actors from different institutions try to make decisions on the allocation of limited natural resources in a variety of different contexts.

My current research objectives are as follows:

• To identify current use/management of water in the river basin of the Valle de Jovel.
• To identify the formal and informal institutions related to the use and management of water within the study area.
• To analyse the main economic, political, social, and environmental factors that influence catchment area management within the river basin.
• To identify the current winners and losers in terms of access to water resources in the catchment area.
• To recommend measures for a more sustainable and equitable use of water resources within the river basin