Press Release

Enlibra, a word coined to represent moving toward balance and stewardship, is based on a set of eight principles adopted by the Western Governors’ Association and developed with the involvement of a diverse group of public and nongovernmental interests. Among other things, the principles rely on collaboration, incentives, and broad participation in developing solutions to environmental and natural resource issues.

The Water Summit was organized by the New Mexico Environment Department and the Office of the State Engineer and participants include interested people from around the region. Peter Maggiore, Secretary of the Environment Department, said the summit was designed to engage people in using the Enlibra principles, and ultimately, to provide a means for developing a long-term vision and establishing better dealings in water resource management.

"I’ve worked for 15 years on ground water issues in both government and in the private sector. In that time, I have seen too many missed opportunities for resolving problems because there was not the regulatory flexibility or encouragement to do it," Maggiore said. "I do not want to miss another opportunity to make environmental progress, and this summit is pivotal if we are to make inroads in water management."

During Maggiore’s opening remarks on Monday, he thanked Gov. Gary Johnson for "having the vision" to initiate the summit and "for giving me enough rope to put this together." Johnson signed an executive order on Oct. 6 that directed environment and natural resource agencies to use the Enlibra principles in their policy-making and to craft policies with the involvement of citizens, businesses and other organizations that are affected.

The three-day summit, which wraps up on Wednesday, is providing background on the Enlibra principles and how they might be employed. Among the speakers was WGA Enlibra Advisory Committee member Robert C. Wilkinson of the Rocky Mountain Institute and Earth Island Institute.

Sessions held today with small groups focused on developing skills for convening interested parties, involving all stakeholders, designing a process, building a consensus, and using mediation to resolve conflicts. Tomorrow a series of roundtables will be held on such issues as balancing uses of water, water quality standards and their effect on supply, conserving and sustaining water supplies, land development and water supply, and markets for water.

For more information about the Western Governors’ Enlibra principles and to link to the Water Summit visit the WGA Web site at www.westgov.org.

The Western Governors’ Association is an independent, nonprofit organization representing the governors of 18 states, two territories and one commonwealth. Through their association, the Western governors identify and address key policy and governance issues in natural resources, the environment, human services, economic development, international relations and public management.

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