Author(s): (Español) Rubén Manrique, (Español) Alejandro Deville del Águila, Ramzy Kahhat Abedrabbo, Ian Vázquez Rowe
(Español) Purpose Biodiversity impacts of the Peruvian fisheries, strongly influenced by El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), are not fully covered by current life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) models. While the recently developed Fisheries Impact Pathway (FIP) accounts for the impacts of marine biotic resource depletion, key methodological challenges, such as temporality, critical for impact assessment in dynamic fisheries, remain unattended. In the current study, we aim to develop characterization factors (CFs) for 10 relevant Peruvian fishing stocks, including Peruvian anchoveta, using an enhanced FIP framework. Methods The methodological framework includes 1) optimization of CMSY++ performance using an exhaustive statistical analysis, to provide reliable estimates for subsequent CF calculations; 2) calculation of CF time series under an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) approach; and, 3) statistical evaluation of enhanced CFs comprising typical uncertainty and sensitivity analyses, along with other tests addressing ecological soundness and stock management; and, 4) application of CFs in case studies to quantify biodiversity impacts from fishing for direct and indirect human consumption. Results and discussion Enhanced CFs deviate up to 4 orders of magnitude from previously reported values, usually showing lower values. These CFs also exhibit weak-moderate statistical correlation with typical ENSO indices, with sea level anomalies showing the strongest relationship. Furthermore, case studies framed in the Peruvian EEZ confirm the relevance of the enhanced CFs, unveiling significant differences in fishing impacts of stocks destined to direct human consumption during years with El Niño and La Niña events, and additional LCIA impacts, ranging from 0.1% to 61% in fishmeal and fish oil production among plants of a major producer, during years 2019 and 2021. Together, these findings suggest that addressing temporality is critical to refine LCIA results, especially in systems with highly dynamic parameters. Conclusions and recommendations The enhanced CF time series more accurately represents stock population dynamics, under fluctuating climatic stressors and management regimes, than the original FIP method. Thus, our method responds to the call of international LCA guidelines for regionalized and temporally explicit impact assessment. We recommend using these CFs to assess biotic resource depletion in Peruvian seafood and aquaculture systems, and extending our methodology to other EEZs affected by similar ecosystem dynamics and fishing pressure.
Download publication (7.69 MB)Author(s): Eizo Muñoz Sovero, Ramzy Kahhat Abedrabbo, (Español) Alejandro Deville del Águila, Diana Ita Nagy, Ian Vázquez Rowe
Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities have historically been difficult to detect due to a lack of adequate monitoring and surveillance technologies. In recent years, advances in computational capacity and the growing availability of fleet tracking datasets have enabled the development of algorithm-based tools for monitoring fishing activity. Additionally, satellite geolocation systems, such as Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) and Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS), have been implemented across multiple fishing fleets worldwide, further enhancing surveillance capabilities. The current study proposes the combined use of AIS and VMS data with satellite imagery to detect and characterize IUU activities of foreign fishing vessels targeting the tuna fishery in the Peruvian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the year 2022. Fishing effort was quantitatively characterized according to permit compliance considering three categories of IUU activities: fishing beyond the permit timeframe, inside a marine protected area (MPA), or without a valid permit. Out of a total sample of 61 vessels evaluated, 56 were detected fishing within the Peruvian EEZ, of which 47 operated within allowed permit lengths, 6 exceeded their authorized days within the EEZ, and 3 had no permit at all. However, of the 47 vessels complying with their permit timeframes, 16 engaged in IUU fishing within the Dorsal de Nasca MPA. These results revealed distinct behavioral patterns of fishing effort not only within the Peruvian EEZ, but also within the broader Eastern Pacific Ocean.
Open linkAuthor(s): Úrsula Cárdenas Mamani, Ramzy Kahhat Abedrabbo y Alessia Linares-Capurro, omer Fishman
Urban infrastructure is crucial for socio-economic development, yet the link between construction material stocks and societal needs in rapidly growing Global South cities remains insufficiently understood. This study conducts a spatially explicit analysis of Lima, Peru, mapping material stocks for buildings dedicated to shelter, education, healthcare, and collective amenities, and relates them to Decent Living Standard (DLS) thresholds and income levels. Results show that heavily populated, low-income, informal areas accumulate greater material stocks but suffer from poorer access to essential services, driven primarily by population demand. In higher-income zones, per-capita living space becomes more significant. This reveals socio-metabolic inequality, as material-intensive expansion in marginalized neighborhoods does not translate into improved well-being. Service privatization and informality exacerbate unequal access. The study concludes by recommending additional factors for future research to refine the understanding of material stocks and service provision relationships in urban contexts.
Open linkAuthor(s): Joan Sanchez Matos, Alvaro Elorrieta, Ramzy Kahhat Abedrabbo, Ian Vázquez Rowe
(Español) Food consumption has shown to represent an important fraction of GHG emissions in most countries worldwide. However, food consumption behavior is highly heterogeneous and depends on numerous variables, including affordability and availability of different food categories and products. The main objective of the current study was to analyze changes in GHG emissions linked to Peruvian dietary patterns and analyze their geographical and temporal variability, using household survey data for the period 2008–2022. From a methodological standpoint, the model estimated apparent household food consumption, as well as food away from home, food obtained from charities, and food loss and waste quantification, to provide an in-depth depiction of Peruvian diets. Diets were then estimated based on geographical location, socioeconomic groups, and the Peruvian average diet. Results show that GHG emissions have remained stable during the period analyzed (1126 kg CO2eq/person/year on average), with a peak attained in 2014 (1236 kg CO2eq/person/year) after years of economic growth and substantial decreases in the poverty rate. Thereafter, carbon emissions have dwindled based on increasing poverty levels, and a gradual substitution of beef for chicken meat, although heterogeneous patterns can be observed among regions. It was estimated that by 2022 an additional 1401 kt CO2eq per year would be emitted to guarantee that those living in poverty or extreme poverty conditions reach daily minimum caloric requirements. The uncertainty of the results, a comparison of these to those of other countries around the world, and potential improvement actions to attain healthier low carbon emission diets are also discussed.
Open linkAuthor(s): Alvaro Elorrieta, Joan Sanchez Matos, Ian Vázquez Rowe, Ramzy Kahhat Abedrabbo
(Español) Avocado production in Peru takes place in different biomes and under different agricultural systems (e.g., conventional, organic, or agroforestry). Therefore, it is important to understand differences in the environmental profile of avocado production within the diversity of these cultivation systems. Hence, the main objective of the study was to conduct a cradle-to-gate attributional Life Cycle Assessment of avocado production in Peru by small and medium-sized producers, under multiple scenarios to provide insights for enhancing environmental performance and including a sensitivity and uncertainty analysis.
Open linkAuthor(s): Red Peruana Ciclo de Vida y (Español) Alejandro Gallego-Schmid, Ricardo Rebolledo-Leiva, Leonardo Vásquez-Ibarra, Alvaro Elorrieta-Mendoza, Denisse Milagros Paredes Cotohuanca, Claudia E. Henninger, Ana Belén Guerrero
(Español) The circular economy is increasingly recognised as a multidimensional paradigm that goes beyond reducing waste and recycling, encompassing systemic design, regenerative practices, socio-technical innovation, and equity considerations. This study examines Peru’s efforts to transition towards circularity as a representative emerging economy in Latin America, based on 15 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders from academia, policymaking, business, and non-governmental organisations. It provides new empirical insights by identifying context-specific drivers and barriers not previously reported in the literature. The analysis identifies barriers such as limited consumer awareness, weak enforcement of regulations, technological gaps, and financial constraints affecting especially micro, small, and medium enterprises. Drivers and strengths include international cooperation, biodiversity, ancestral knowledge, and emerging policies. The government, European agencies, and civil society emerge as central actors in this transition. Conceptually, the study offers a novel contribution by adapting Schlossberg’s transition theory, traditionally applied in psychology and education, to the field of sustainability. Findings emphasise the need to raise awareness, foster a cross-sectoral and decentralised regulatory framework with clear responsibilities, enforcement, and accountability mechanisms, promote targeted investments, and design policies that integrate informal sectors. This research contributes to both theory and practice: methodologically by extending transition theory to sustainability studies, and empirically by providing the first multi-stakeholder analysis of CE in Peru, offering insights.
Open linkAuthor(s): Ramzy Kahhat Abedrabbo, Ian Vázquez Rowe y (Español) David Baptista de Sousa
(Español) The marine ingredients (MIs) industry is essential to the aquaculture sector, mainly providing fishmeal and fish oil to support animal feed and human nutrition. The exponential growth of aquaculture and the heavy reliance on finite marine resources pose significant sustainability challenges and highlight the need for more comprehensive and regionally adapted metrics beyond current Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) indicators and nonconventional LCA metrics. In this systematic review, we analyzed 48 literature studies that focus on the sustainability of MIs using rigorous criteria for data quality and indicator relevance under the Prisma methodology. Our findings indicate that the studies that are mainly based on conducting an LCA provide valuable insights into environmental performance, but are hindered by inconsistent metrics, limited data availability, and a lack of integration of economic, nutritional, and ethical dimensions in the sustainability analysis. Such limitations can lead to underestimate critical issues such as biodiversity loss, overfishing, habitat degradation, or the impact of illegal fishing, while overemphasizing short-term efficiency measures, like feed conversion ratio, or environmental impacts such as global warming. Additionally, emerging novel proteins and alternative uses for fish-derived byproducts, ranging from direct human consumption to high-value applications (bioactive compounds, cosmetics, etc.) to lower value products (like biofertilizers), remain largely unexplored, given the absence of holistic and flexible assessment tools. Thus, the presence of unregulated contaminants (including additives, antibiotics and microplastics), are not yet adequately addressed in most MIs studies, despite some recent methodological advancements. This review proposes the adoption of novel metrics, the standardization of assessment methods and the integration of multi-criteria decision analysis for LCA practitioners to better capture the complex and multifaceted challenges of MIs production, covering the way for more robust and reliable sustainability assessments. within the aquaculture industry
Open linkAuthor(s): Ian Vázquez Rowe, Patricia Mogrovejo Román, Eizo Muñoz Sovero, (Español) Pablo Gonzalez, Karin Bartl, Isabel Quispe Trinidad y (Español) vazquez
(Español) Limited studies have been conducted in Latin America related to the environmental profile of cocoa and chocolate production using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The current study conducts a cradle-to-gate LCA of the production of organic chocolate products in Peru, considering cocoa cultivation practices by a group of 21 female producers located in central Peru in the year 2022. Data were collected on-site at cultivation sites and processing plant using questionnaires with the technical staff. Beyond fossil and biogenic emissions linked to cultivation, transport of dried cocoa, and manufacturing activities at the chocolate producing plant, carbon capture on fields by cocoa and shading trees was modeled and included in the carbon balance. A total of 8 impact categories were selected, considering different environmental compartments. Results for global warming using the main scenario show a range of values from 4.33 kg CO2eq per kilogram of final chocolate product to 4.88 kg CO2eq. Most impacts are derived from the production of dry cocoa beans and, to a lesser extent, upstream sugarcane production. However, important differences were evident when the individual cocoa producers were analyzed, with agroforestry systems presenting lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than cocoa monocrops. Regarding water scarcity, the activities at the chocolate processing plant were found to contribute more than water use at the cocoa cultivation sites. For other impact categories, toxicity emissions at the cultivation site were relatively low given the organic characteristics of the fields, which do not use conventional pesticides. The post-harvest management of the cocoa pods (i.e., composting) is a critical source of GHG emissions. Hence, adequate composting conditions maintain methane emissions low, but direct return of the pods to the field can generate a substantial increase in GHG emissions. Carbon sequestration from above ground biomass, mainly from shading and cocoa trees, appears to mitigate an important fraction of these emissions if shading is homogeneous and sufficiently dense across the fields.
