Why this matters
The Tijuana River Watershed is overseen by a vast array of agencies. Coordinating rehabilitation efforts is a key challenge, and opportunity to address the environmental and public health impacts of cross-border sewage and runoff.
Last week I attended a tour of the Tijuana River Valley, organized by 11 organizations for the 30×30 Partnership Summit, a statewide meeting of groups committed to achieving California’s conservation goals.
“We’re going to give you a little bit of a flavor of the complexities of this landscape here,” said Lorena Warner-Lara, an environmental scientist with California State Parks.
About 60 people from across the state attended. The vans that carted us throughout the valley were alive with conversation as attendees prodded the many experts who hosted us, all of whom are invested in rehabilitating the river basin.
A vast array of entities oversee and advocate for the river valley. On the U.S. side alone, the land is stewarded by federal, state, county and city agencies. Advocacy groups with a stake in the river’s future — and in resolving the public health crisis caused by billions of gallons of untreated wastewater pouring into the watershed — hail from both sides of the border.
The tour was a five-hour dive into the breadth and depth of the complexities of reviving the estuary, and into the dynamics and challenges of cross-border policy making. It was also a testament to how much collaboration is needed to address this decades-old problem.
“We know that environmental problems are also social problems. If you don’t know this yet, we’re in big trouble,” said Kyle Haines, a UC San Diego researcher who spoke at the tour.
Here is a peek of some highlights from the tour.
Host organizations
Surfrider Foundation San Diego County
Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve
County of San Diego Parks and Recreation
Type of Content
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