The Permanent Forum of Binational Waters invites its community, partners, and supporters to contribute to a shared cause led by the Rio Grande International Study Center (RGISC), an allied organization working at the intersection of water, communities, and environmental justice in the U.S.–Mexico border region, where border wall projects are increasingly affecting shared waters and river-dependent communities.
The federal government is advancing a large-scale land acquisition project along the Rio Grande that would reshape South Texas for generations. The proposal includes a 30-foot steel wall, a restricted Security Enforcement Zone, and razor-sharp floating buoys placed directly in the river. These measures threaten ecosystems, public safety, and long-standing community relationships with the river.
Border wall impacts on the Rio Grande and local communities
In Laredo alone, this project would directly affect thousands of residents across 20 riverfront neighborhoods. Public parks, trails, local businesses, and ranches would lose access to the river. Hundreds of millions of dollars in public and private investment would be undermined, while future cultural, recreational, and economic opportunities would be cut off. Access to the Rio Grande, central to community life, would be severely restricted by the border wall.
RGISC works to document these impacts, elevate community voices, and support research and advocacy that defend shared waters and border communities affected by the border wall. Your donation helps sustain applied research, public education, and collaborative spaces that connect science, policy, and lived experience in regions under intense environmental and social pressure.
Every contribution strengthens a network committed to protecting water as a shared resource and promoting long-term resilience. Donating is a concrete way to stand with communities whose future depends on continued access to their river.
Code of ethicsand responsible collaboration
The Permanent Forum of Binational Waters supports this call to action under its code of ethics, which guides how the Forum engages with allied organizations, donors, and the public, ensuring transparency, integrity, and respect while supporting initiatives led by trusted partners such as RGISC.
Responses