InvitationtoCollaborateonInternationalGulf of Mexico Sustainability Research
A two-day intensive workshop on “Binational Perspectives on the Gulf of Mexico Sustainability” held at Hacienda Santa Clara in San Miguel de Allende, welcomed over 50 international researchers and students to develop partnerships seeking to understand and mitigate the impacts of climate change along the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) margins. Core workshop themes focused on the effects of climate change on sustainable urban development and public health and safety, and impactsonessential resources at various scales. The collaborative nature of the workshop also highlighted the need to developglobal data repositories that can be used to facilitate action. These data setsare needed to enable storing, sharing, and accessing relevant information for the academic community and government and industry stakeholders around the GoM. Further, greater congruency in framings and methods for investigating sustainability also is needed.
To continue the progress that was generated at the workshop and meet broader societal goals (Box 1), we invite researchers in Mexicothe U.S., and other GoM nations to join the Research Collaborativeon GoM Sustainability (RCGoM). The RCGoM is a bottom-up approach to advancing actionable research on priority themes by: i) identifying key researchers, institutions and networks, with a point of contact that can facilitate bilingual communication, and working with them to prioritize a short list of research questions within each theme; ii) identifying existing data sets related to research questions and ensuring they meet needed criteria and are accessible through existing repositories; and iii) communicating to interested researchers the data that exist, the data that do not exist, and securing funding to fill data gaps and support activities to answer research questions.
RESEARCH THEMES
THEME I: IMPORTANCE OF PLACE IDENTIY
The first theme recognizes connection and emotional attachment of people to place. Place-based rural and urban histories encourage communities to create and maintain their own identity. The workshop stressed the proper integration of scientific inquiry with a respect for local knowledge of land use and resources. A powerful takeaway from the workshop was the participants’ views about the displacement of local groups through economic, social, political and environmental means. Understanding the emotional power of place,and how it collides with its economic value, is crucial to developing decision-making strategies that engage individual communities.
THEME II: FACILITATING ACTIONABLE SCIENCE
The second theme is interpreting and translating scientific data into information with usable formats and tools. The workshop emphasized the idea that collaboration is required to define problems and propose solutions, collect scientific data tailored to local contexts, and communicate effectively among scientists, decision-makers at varying levels and the public. Researchers across the borders should identify mechanisms and processes that can facilitate the broader use of existing data in key sustainability areas, such as the food-energy-water nexus, and urban and rural resilience to climate impacts. Researchers also should identify critical components that are missing to further advance actionable science.
THEME III: CONFRONTING POLICY LIMITS
The third theme addresses the reality of working within government policies that inadequately incorporate social, economic, and environmental concerns, as well across stakeholders that have different cultural values and interests. Researchers should build on current analyses of today’s political sphere and how politics and policy, at the global, state and local levels, play a role in shaping the climate change, sustainability and associated research funding agendas.
CROSS CUTTING GOALS
Throughout these themes, the goals of collaboration include identifying existing researchers and researchin Mexico, the U.S., and other GoM nations on climate sustainability issues; ensuring researchersand data are known and accessible; and targeting additional research and building partnerships to address needs throughout the region. Successful partnerships will create a knowledge base and community of individual experts and networks, specifically providing contact information for key research questions.
The collaboration also seeks to publicize information beyond academia. Joint efforts through the collaboration could include shared one-pagers that are accessible through short narration or short video interviews that emphasize environmental issues important to the general public, industry, and other stakeholders. By sharing stories, challenges and successes, deeper dialogue can be fostered throughout the GoM to empower our researchers and communities, and to leverage our collective strengths in securing a sustainable future.