Título
Valuation of hidden water ecosystem services : the replacement cost of the aquifer system in Central Mexico
Autor
Carlos A. Lopez-Morales
Colaborador
M. Azahara Mesa-Jurado (Analista)
Nivel de Acceso
Acceso Abierto
Materias
Acuíferos;Escasez de agua;Valor económico;Explotación hidráulica;Conservación de bosques - (TESAURO) Aquifers;Water shortages;Economic value;Hydraulic exploitation;Forest conservation - (TESAURO) CIENCIAS FÍSICO MATEMÁTICAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA - (CTI) CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA Y DEL ESPACIO - (CTI) CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA Y DEL ESPACIO - (CTI)
Resumen o descripción
Resumen en inglés: "This paper reports research estimating the costs of replacing the groundwater that the metropolitan areas of Mexico City, Toluca, and Cuernavaca, in Central Mexico, pump from 10 over-exploited aquifers with 6 supply alternatives of surface water. These aquifers provide about 70% of the water required by more than 28 million people, and their recharge zones in forested areas are increasingly threatened by economic activities. By designing a constrained optimization program that minimizes investment and operation costs, we found that replacing groundwater extraction involves the construction of all six alternatives at an estimated cost of US$25 billion at present values (US$0.6 m−³ over a 26-year period). We designed and analyzed a scenario to combine measures to reduce water leaks in Mexico City; a positive balance was found: every dollar invested in leak control reduces replacement costs by between US$1.9 and US$8.4. Therefore, our results suggest the prioritization of leak control measures in order to reduce extraction from over-exploited aquifers. Local authorities should be warned about the economics of losing ecosystem services that are crucial to sustaining the population and the economic activities in the region of study. "
Fecha de publicación
2017
Tipo de publicación
Artículo
Recurso de información
Formato
application/pdf
Fuente
Water. . ISSN: 2073-4441
Idioma
Inglés
Audiencia
Público en general
Repositorio Orígen
Repositorio Institucional de ECOSUR
Descargas
277