BARA on the Border: A UA researcher works to fix environmental problems

Photo by Frederick Driesen
An interview with Dr. Diane Austin of the Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology (BARA) by Jason Hill, Student Science Journalist
In 1965 the Border Industrialization Program led to a population explosion along the U.S.–Mexico border, but the infrastructure couldn’t keep up. As the population went up, water and air quality went down. Diane Austin, Internship Coordinator and Chair of Research Affairs for the Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology (BARA), works to find solutions by creating partnerships on both sides of the border.
How did you become interested in environmental policy?
When I was in high school in New Mexico, I joined my high school ecology club. We were involved in everything from revegetating our school grounds to discussing alternative energy. As an undergraduate at Texas Christian University, I majored in environmental sciences and biology.
When did you start working with U.S.-Mexico border issues?
 After finishing my doctorate at the University of Michigan, I had the opportunity to come to the University of Arizona to work on a research project. I took a faculty position in BARA in 1994, and I began to get involved in discussions with some community folks down in Nogales.
What are some rewarding aspects of working in this region?
You’re working in a bi-national context, where the border is very far from the national capitals of both countries. It’s a region that has its own identity. You also have a fairly young population, with a lot of energy from people working alongside each other trying to address the problems.
What has been the major focus of your work?
For about ten years we’ve been turning waste products into resources. We transformed old products made of metal, such as washing machines, into stoves and machines to help dry recycled paper pulp. We also converted human waste into soil-enrichment enhancements.
What is the role of BARA’s internship program?
We bring the resources of BARA faculty, graduate students and interns to local communities who might not be able to afford them. With the internship program we can combine teaching students with giving them opportunities to learn by providing services to communities in our region.
What BARA project has been the most exciting?
A number of years ago we began addressing the problem of managing wastewater infrastructure in Nogales, Sonora. We worked with community leaders to identify households that were not connected to the sewage infrastructure, and we provided them with composting toilets. The federal government in Mexico funded additional toilets to be built outside the city. We used that model as a pilot project in Tucson and Pima County to see if those kinds of toilets could be used on this side of the border as well.
What are some important considerations you make when forming community partnerships?
The ideas always come from the community. We’re working locally while looking nationally and internationally at how other communities have addressed similar problems. We come up with small pilot projects to see how we can bring together the local conditions we’re facing with ideas that have been tried elsewhere. We then assess the data, conduct interviews and follow how the project is working. In the case of inadequate infrastructure, problems tend to stem from broader social and political issues and events. We try to see what causes the problem, not run around plugging holes in dams.
How do you avoid conflicting interests?
Early on in a project, we try to establish an advisory board. People who might be affected come together face-to-face to talk about their concerns. They design the project, review it and track its progress together. That doesn’t solve all the problems, but we don’t get into finger pointing. These are shared problems. Airsheds and watersheds don’t know an international boundary.
Why is it so important to create partnerships?
Problems exist on both sides of the border. So do solutions, creativity, energy and good ideas. Many problems can be worked through if we come together to solve them.