The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, jointly with the Mexican Academy of Sciences, Academy of Engineering, and National Academy of Medicine, will appoint a binational, ad hoc committee of experts from the United States and Mexico to identify partnership approaches to address select sustainability challenges in the binational drylands region outlined in the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's 2018 workshop report, Advancing Sustainability of U.S.-Mexico Transboundary Drylands. The committee's work will support efforts identified through Goal 17 (partnerships for the goals) of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which calls for multi-stakeholder, cross-sector partnerships between governments, the private sector and civil society.

The committee will draw on social science theory and research around partnerships, and will review relevant case studies to explore short-, medium-, and long-term strategies and mechanisms to increase coordination between relevant government agencies, the private sector (such as the mining and energy industries) and civil society in the U.S. and Mexico. Through consultation with stakeholders, the committee will recommend potential strategies to address specific targets within the relevant sustainable development goals and determine the appropriate scale (local, regional and national) and timeframe for partnerships to align with the targets.

Recommended strategies will consider social and environmental compatibility and the opportunity for economic growth.