Water societal metabolism in the Yucatan Peninsula. The impact of climate change on the recharge of groundwater by 2030

• Published in: Journal of cleaner production Vol. 235; pp. 272 - 287
• Main Authors: Rodríguez-Huerta, Edgar, Rosas Casals, Martí, Hernández Terrones, Laura Margarita
• Format: Journal Article Publication
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 20.10.2019
• Subjects: Aigua; Consum; Desenvolupament humà i sostenible; Explotació; Gestió de l'aigua; Groundwater recharge; Metabolism; Mexico; MuSIASEM; Mèxic; Política i gestió ambiental; Societal metabolism; Water; Water consumption; Water resources management; Yucatan peninsula; Yucatán Peninsula; Yucatán, Península de; Àrees temàtiques de la UPC; MuSIASEM; Water consumption; Societal metabolism; Groundwater recharge; Yucatan peninsula
• ISSN: 0959-6526; 1879-1786
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.06.310

The demographic and economic growth in Yucatan peninsula (YP) in recent years has caused changes in the hydrological response and flow of the water cycle. The growth effects and its impact on society are poorly understood. Here we present an estimation of water consumption and its evolution based on the analysis of Yucatan Peninsula's societal metabolism, using the interdisciplinary tool MuSIASEM. Societal metabolism together with metabolic patterns generate a new narrative on how the YP development is linked to the uses of water, considering social functions, as well as the biophysical limits established by the annual recharge of groundwater, being it the main source of water supply. Given the current trends in YP socio-economic growth and climate change scenarios, our results show superlinear scaling relations between water metabolic rate and water consumption which leads increase in water consumption and 23% decrease in groundwater recharge by the year 2030. The consequences of this scenario are particularly worrying for the near future, given the current socio-economic structure in YP, highly dependent both on the services (i.e., tourism) and agriculture sectors. [Display omitted] •Water metabolic rate (WMR) considers social and economic factors that simultaneously drive the evolution of water use.•The growth of WMR explains how productive sectors evolve and how this development is related to an increasing water use.•We use the WMR to estimate water use by 2030, and compare it with the groundwater recharge under the effects of climate change.