Author(s): Luis Izquierdo Horna, Ramzy Kahhat Abedrabbo, Ian Vázquez Rowe
(Español) In most cities worldwide, household food waste constitutes a significant portion of municipal solid waste (MSW). However, its management often proves inadequate due to the insufficient resources allocated to waste management systems, the omission of the resource potential in MSW, and the lack of recognition of household food waste drivers for forecasting generation in specific geographical contexts. This research aims to identify social, economic, and environmental variables serving as proxies to forecast household food waste generation. To achieve this, a multiple linear regression model was proposed to assess the relationship between cooking fuel type (i.e., liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas, and electricity), land use categories (i.e., commercial, industrial, and residential), population density, expenditure on in-house food consumption, and household food waste generation. Three alternate modeling scenarios were considered based on available data, with Lima, Peru, serving as a case study. The results indicate that the combined consumption of liquefied petroleum gas and natural gas, and electricity consumption, along with residential land use, were the most influential variables. Finally, for a comprehensive understanding of the studied phenomenon, it is crucial to analyze and consider the intricate dynamics of societal consumption patterns.
Open linkAuthor(s): (Español) Claudia Cucchi Quispe, Ian Vázquez Rowe, Mario Echevarría, Ramzy Kahhat Abedrabbo y []
(Español) Plant-based spread products, such as margarine, are made up of a combination of diverse ingredients, many times
arriving from different parts of the world. This makes their environmental impact challenging to compute. In
Latin America, despite efforts in recent years to enlarge the number of food items that have been analyzed from
an environmental perspective, many processed products remain unexplored. In this context, the main objective
of the current study was to determine the environmental impacts of a set of five plant-based spread products in
Peru using life cycle assessment. For this, primary data were collected from the main margarine producer up to
the gate of the agroindustrial plant ready for distribution. Methodological choices, such as allocation, the
computation of land use changes (LUCs) or agricultural management variability, were an important subset of
variables to be considered in the life cycle modeling and accounted for through scenario and sensitivity analyses.
Results demonstrated that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to margarine production in Peru range from
1.66 to 6.00 kg CO2eq per kilogram of product, in a similar range to other studies in the literature. LUCs
accounted for the highest contribution to GHG emissions, whereas crude oil extraction, as well as on field fer-
tilizer emissions were the other main contributors. In other impact categories, plant protection agents were
relevant in toxicity indicators, fertilization in eutrophication and transport in air quality-related categories.
These results constitute a benchmark for the production of plant-based products in Latin America and are useful
for attaining cleaner production, as well as for the optimization of ingredients and packaging design.
Author(s): Joan Sanchez Matos, Ian Vázquez Rowe, Ramzy Kahhat Abedrabbo
(Español) International trade in fishery and aquaculture products is an important means of providing feed and food for different countries around the world. However, it is also responsible for multiple environmental impacts, namely climate change, as well as novel environmental aspects, such as plastic emissions, through its entire life cycle. In fact, plastic emissions are gaining increasing attention due to their presence in a variety of environmental compartments, especially in marine ecosystems. Hence, this study estimated the carbon footprint and the plastic emissions into the oceans from fishing and aquaculture trade between the European Union (EU) and South America (SA), based on a life cycle perspective. The results reveal that there is an imbalance both in terms of mass and carbon emissions between the import and export flows. SA exports eight-fold more aquaculture and fishing products (877,000 t) than those it imports (112,000 t), emitting twelve-fold more greenhouse gasses (2.9 million metric tons CO2eq.) than the EU (242,000 t CO2eq.), demonstrating the existence of seafood trade imbalances between the two regions. The entire trading releases into the ocean at least 263 t of macroplastic, and 45 t of microplastics from the fishing phase. This suggests the importance of the environmental impacts of the trade flows of aquaculture and fishing products, and the urgent need to decrease carbon emissions and provide more sustainable alternatives to plastic materials in fishing gear.
Open linkAuthor(s): Ian Vázquez Rowe
The White Paper aims to take stock of existing policy and regulatory frameworks regarding the prevention and mitigation of microplastic in coastal aquaculture input chains in APEC region. A desk study and expert workshops involving 42 contributors from 12 APEC economies were carried to collect the required data and information to develop the paper. This White Paper found that there are almost negligible regulatory frameworks to monitor and prevent microplastics in APEC’s coastal aquaculture input chains. Public discourses and research related to the issues are also limited. This White Paper recommends the continuation of public discourses and research activities to support the development of a comprehensive policy related to microplastic issues in coastal aquaculture. The comprehensive policy could be used by APEC economies to develop their own regulatory measures to ensure and promote the safety of seafood products from coastal aquaculture of APEC region.
Download publication (4.87 MB)Author(s): Gustavo Larrea Gallegos, Ramzy Kahhat Abedrabbo, Ian Vázquez Rowe, Eduardo Parodi Gonzales Prada
(Español) Alluvial small-scale gold mining (ASGM) mining in the Amazon is expanding fiercely, generating severe environmental degradation, which includes the fast disappearance of primary forests in a highly biodiverse area of the world. Different factors motivate the growth of mining in the areas and understanding this expansion is important to safeguard protected areas or implement strategies to mitigate the related social and environmental impacts. Thus, the goal of this study is to apply machine learning techniques to explore gold mining expansion in Madre de Dios, in the Peruvian Amazon, and to identify possible future hotspots of these activities. Using an unsupervised learning algorithm and a random forest classification model, past expansion trends were analyzed and an explicit geo-spatial model was built. Results demonstrate that proximity to infrastructure is not always indicative of high mining probability. In fact, when analyzing the spatial distribution of model accuracy, it is observed that model performance decreases in clusters where accessibility and mining activity showed opposite trends. In contrast, the models yield accuracies greater than 0.9 when accessibility-related variables stand out as the most important. The model, which is flexible and reproducible, demonstrates to be useful to enhance decision making when implementing geo-spatial policies to address the problem of ASGM expansion in the Amazon.
Download publication (7.75 MB)Author(s): (Español) Alejandro Deville del Águila, Ian Vázquez Rowe, Diana Ita Nagy, Ramzy Kahhat Abedrabbo
(Español) Las actividades marinas son una fuente crítica de desechos plásticos en el océano. Esto es particularmente importante en países con una industria pesquera competitiva, como Perú. Por lo tanto, este estudio tuvo como objetivo identificar y cuantificar los principales flujos de desechos plásticos que se acumulan en el océano desde fuentes oceánicas dentro de la Zona Económica Exclusiva Peruana. Se elaboró un análisis de flujo de materiales para analizar el stock de plástico y su liberación al océano por parte de un conjunto de flotas peruanas, incluyendo la industria pesquera, buques mercantes, cruceros y lanchas. Los resultados muestran que en 2018 ingresaron al océano entre 2715 y 5584 toneladas métricas de desechos plásticos. La flota pesquera fue la más contaminante, representando aproximadamente el 97 % del total. Además, la pérdida de artes de pesca representó la mayor contribución de una sola actividad, aunque otras fuentes, como los envases de plástico y las emisiones de antiincrustantes, tienen el potencial de convertirse en grandes fuentes de contaminación plástica marina.
Open linkAuthor(s): (Español) Mario Echeverría-Su, Esteffany Huamanraime-Maquin, Félix Israel Cabrera, Ian Vázquez-Rowe
(Español) Micro-mobility has increased in urban environments to reduce dependence on private vehicles. While electric micro- mobility alternatives are supposed to reduce environmental impacts, certain studies suggest that this can depend on the transport mode they substitute. In parallel, despite growing efforts, urban areas in developing and emerging economies struggle to implement sustainable mobility programs at a city-wide level. In March 2019 the first dockless e-scooter rental service appeared in the city of Lima, Peru. Although the social and environmental impacts of dockless e-scooters have been the center of multiple studies, these are mostly based in North America and Europe. Therefore, the main objective of the current study was to use Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to address the environmental profile of e-scooter use in districts of central Lima. All stages of the life-cycle of e-scooters were modelled considering local conditions, from manufacture to end-of-life. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to account for the variability in environmental impact based on five parameters: lifespan, battery range, remaining battery charge, collection dis- tance and collection vehicle. Results show that over two thirds of impacts are linked to manufacturing thanks to the low-carbon profile of electricity production in Peru, which lowers the burdens in the use phase, making e-scooter use competitive in the local market as compared to electric bikes or motorcycles. However, replacement trends show that net environmental gains are not always obtained. Poor maintenance and derived lifespan or battery range are important sources of variability for the impact categories assessed. Although e-scooters show potential for their im- plementation in developing cities with similar characteristics to Lima, we recommend that site-specific studies should be conducted to foster adaptive management strategies which take into account the means of transport being substituted by e-scooters.
Open linkAuthor(s): Diana Ita Nagy, Ian Vázquez Rowe, Ramzy Kahhat Abedrabbo
(Español) Marine plastic accumulation has gained international attention in recent years. Sources, pathways, and environmental impacts are being currently studied to understand the complex interactions during waste, especially plastic, transportation to the sea. Rivers have been identified as debris corridors allowing transportation of mismanaged waste. However, there is also evidence of waste accumulation in river basins, suggesting they can also act as sinks. Thus, assuming a uniform and continuous transportation of waste through rivers towards the ocean may signify an oversimplification. This study proposes a methodology to estimate plastic release to the ocean, considering a more detailed characterization of each river basin, including natural attributes and manmade constructions that may act as barriers or boosters for this release. The methodology is exemplified using a case study for the Region of Piura, Peru, and estimating a range of 4.2 to 13.9 kg/person/year of plastic waste reaching the Pacific coast during 2018. These results, when compared with the existing literature, demonstrate more conservative estimations. This methodology is presented as a useful tool that can be easily applied to develop more accurate mismanaged waste dissipation along different compartments.
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