Author(s): Ian Vázquez Rowe y otros
(Español) Viticulture is currently experiencing a gradual shift to more sustainable production practices. Many producers see in this shift an opportunity to increase their sales, especially in a context which is greatly influenced by the reduction in wine sales due to the world economic crisis. Hence, both organic and biodynamic viticulture have begun to be applied in many vineyards as alternative attractive agricultural techniques. Nevertheless, it remains unclear which are the exact environmental benefits (or drawbacks) of applying these techniques for numerous environmental impacts, such as climate change or toxicity. Therefore, the main goal of this study is to perform an environmental evaluation using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for three different viticulture techniques within a single appellation (Ribeiro, NW Spain): biodynamic cultivation sites, conventional vineyards and an intermediate biodynamic-conventional wine-growing plantation (i.e. biodynamic site lacking certification). Moreover, two methodological improvements in the field of wine LCA studies are suggested and developed in terms of land use impact categories and labour inclusion in life-cycle thinking. Results demonstrate that biodynamic production implies the lowest environmental burdens, and the highest environmental impacts were linked to conventional agricultural practices. The main reasons for this strong decrease in environmental impacts for the biodynamic site is related to an 80% decrease in diesel inputs, due to a lower application of plant protection products and fertilisers, and the introduction of manual work rather than mechanised activities in the vineyards. Nevertheless, a series of preliminary assessments suggest that the impacts linked to land use and human labour, two under-analysed issues in wine LCA, may show different trends to those obtained for the other environmental dimensions, adding complexity to the integrated interpretation of the results.
Open linkAuthor(s): Ian Vázquez Rowe y otros
(Español) Life cycle assessment (LCA) has developed into a useful methodology to assess energy consumption of fishing fleets and their derived seafood products, as well as the associated environmental burdens. In this study, however, the life cycle inventory data is used to provide a dimensionless ratio between energy inputs and the energy provided by the fish: the edible protein energy return on investment (ep-EROI). The main objective was to perform a critical comparison of seafood products landed in Galicia (NW Spain) in terms of ep-EROI. The combination of energy return on investment (EROI) with LCA, the latter having standardized mechanisms regarding data acquisition and system boundary delimitation, allowed a reduction of uncertainties in EROI estimations. Results allow a deeper understanding of the energy efficiency in the Galician fishing sector, showing that small pelagic species present the highest ep-EROI values if captured using specific fishing techniques. Finally, results are expected to provide useful guidelines for policy support in the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy.
Open linkAuthor(s): Ian Vázquez Rowe y otros
(Español) Three different winter wheat production systems for three European countries (United Kingdom, France and Italy), all with different climatic conditions, soil management and input levels (e.g. tillage, fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides) were analysed from an environmental perspective. The intended applications were the analysis and comparison from a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) perspective and the identification of the key parameters which have the greatest influence on final results. The analysis considered the entire production system, including the extraction of raw materials, production of farming inputs and all agricultural operations. The adoption of LCA was considered the most appropriate methodology to define the environmental impact. The functional unit considered was 1 hectare of winter wheat production. The results showed that the impact due to machinery use was mostly dependent on the number of interventions related to the application of fertilizers, herbicides and plant protection. Emissions due to on-field fertilizer application and their production also showed a significant contribution for each impact category showing percentages reaching 90% of the total, whereas the impact due to fungicides and herbicides were negligible, since their contribution never exceeded 4% of the total emissions. Emissions to soil, air and water were affected by factors such as local weather conditions and soil characteristics, which can vary on a local scale, the time of farming activities, N, P and K uptake by the plants, amount and typology of fertilizers adopted. Nitrate losses from arable cropping may be reduced by limiting N-based fertilizer inputs.
Open linkAuthor(s): Ian Vázquez Rowe y otros
(Español) Purpose: Consequential Life Cycle Assessment (C-LCA) is a “system modelling approach in which activities in a product system are linked so that activities are included in the product system to the extent that they are expected to change as a consequence of a change in demand”. Hence, C-LCA focuses on micro-economic actions linked to macro-economic consequences, by identifying the (marginal) suppliers and technologies prone to be affected by variable scale changes in the demand of a product. Detecting the direct and indirect environmental effects due to changes in the production system is not an easy task. Hence, researchers have combined the consequential perspective with different econometric models. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess an increase in biocrops cultivation in Luxembourg using three different consequential modelling approaches to understand the benefits, drawbacks and assumptions linked to each approach as applied to the case study selected. Methods: Firstly, a partial equilibrium (PE) model is used to detect changes in land cultivation based on the farmers’ revenue maximisation. Secondly, another PE model is proposed, which considers a different perspective aiming at minimising a total adaptation cost (so-called opportunity cost) to satisfy a given new demand of domestically produced biofuel. Finally, the consequential system delimitation for agricultural LCA approach, as proposed by Schmidt (Int J Life Cycle Assess 13:350–364, 2008), is applied. Results and discussion: The two PE models present complex shifts in crop rotation land use changes (LUCs), linked to the optimisation that is performed, while the remaining approach has limited consequential impact on changes in crop patterns since the expert opinion decision tree constitutes a simplification of the ongoing LUCs. However, environmental consequences in the latter were considerably higher due to intercontinental trade assumptions recommended by the experts that were not accounted for in the economic models. Environmental variations between the different scenarios due to LUCs vary based on the different expert- or computational-based assumptions. Finally, environmental consequences as compared with the current state-of-the-art are lame due to the limited impact of the shock within the global trade market. Conclusions: The use of several consequential modelling approaches within the same study may help widen the interpretation of the advantages or risks of applying a specific change to a production system. In fact, different models may not only be good alternatives in terms of comparability of scenarios and assumptions, but there may also be room for complementing these within a unique framework to reduce uncertainties in an integrated way.
Open linkAuthor(s): Luis Arce Jáuregui
(Español) Asesor: Ramzy Kahhat
Tesis para optar el título de Licenciado en Ingeniería Civil
Resumen:
El agua es el recurso natural más valioso de la tierra, sin ella no existiría vida. Alrededor del 71% de la corteza terrestre está cubierta por agua. A pesar de ser tan abundante, solo un reducido porcentaje es utilizable para el consumo humano. Si se quisiera describir el término “consumo humano”, se diría que es el uso del agua para el contacto con los seres humanos. El término es muy amplio ya que al considerar contacto humano se refiere a beber el agua, utilizarla para la limpieza de alimentos, limpieza de materiales, entre otras actividades. El agua es un recurso muy cuidadoso, a pesar de ello se desperdicia este líquido vital en actividades rutinarias con menor importancia y no se cuida que el ciclo regular de ésta llegue a completarse adecuadamente, por lo que cada vez se va reduciendo el volumen de agua potable. Se está viviendo una época crucial donde el correcto y racional uso del agua podría cambiar el curso de la vida de las personas dentro de los próximos años. El Perú es un país que tiene la suerte de contar con agua subterránea que proporciona y llega a satisfacer una considerable cantidad de personas con este vital líquido. Además, el precio del agua es económicamente reducido con respecto a muchos países, ésta puede ser una de las razones por las que no se sabe emplear de manera correcta y consciente el agua. En el Perú no se ha logrado solucionar el tema de la obstrucción del ciclo correcto de utilización del agua, debido a que el agua debe pasar por procesos de tratamiento después de ser empleada, para finalmente destinarla por efluentes adecuados hacia sus orígenes. En algunos lugares se han centrado solo en almacenar aguas residuales domésticas que producen no solo problemas de salud, sino también en el medio ambiente y una falta de control operacional por las entidades prestadoras de agua. En el presente trabajo se dará un alcance de la situación real del Perú en el tema de saneamiento. Se plantearán vías para la reutilización del agua y se buscará mediante una estructura de investigación alternativas de soluciones viables y rentables en el Perú. Las soluciones no solo tendrán como fondo principal el uso racional del agua sino brindar calidad de vida en urbanizaciones sostenibles a las personas.
Author(s): Ian Vázquez Rowe y otros
(Español) Goose barnacles constitute an important market product in Spain, where they are considered a top seafood attraction in first-class restaurants. However, their environmental sustainability has not been explored beyond the implementation of co-management schemes to avoid overexploitation. Therefore, the main objective of this article is to understand the environmental implications of goose barnacles in terms of carbon footprint (CF), in the wake of recent studies which have highlighted the importance that fishing systems can have on climate change, as well as to facilitate accountability concerning CF reduction policies for stakeholders and consumers. Results for the six scenarios under analysis showed substantial changes depending on the harvesting area and especially on the means of transport chosen, since this intertidal species can be accessed by land or by sea. The average CF per kg of harvested barnacles ranged from 0.64 kg CO2 equiv. to over 11 kg CO2 equiv., showing substantially higher CF values whenever the resource was accessed by sea. The wide CF gap observed between harvesting carried out on foot or by sea suggests that different management schemes should be implemented for each of the two methods in terms of environmental monitoring, as well as different strategies concerning environmental transparency and reporting.
Open linkAuthor(s): Karin Bartl y otros
(Español) Crop and technology choices in agriculture, which largely define the impact of agricultural production on the environment, should be considered in agricultural development planning. A life cycle assessment of the dominant crops produced in a Peruvian coastal valley was realized, in order to establish regionalized life cycle inventories for Peruvian products and to provide the basis for a regional evaluation of the impacts of eutrophication, acidification, human toxicity, and biodiversity loss due to water use. Five scenarios for the year 2020 characterized by different crop combinations and irrigation systems were considered as development options. The results of the regional assessment showed that a business-as-usual scenario, extrapolating current trends of crop cultivation, would lead to an increase in nitrate leaching with eutrophying effects. On the other hand, scenarios of increased application of drip irrigation and of mandarin area expansion would lead to a decrease in nitrate leaching. In all scenarios the human toxicity potential would decrease slightly, while an increase in irrigation water use would benefit the biodiversity of a nearby groundwater-fed wetland. Comparisons with results from other studies confirmed the importance of regionalized life cycle inventories. The results can be used as decision support for local farmers and authorities.
Open linkAuthor(s): Ramzy Kahhat Abedrabbo y otros
(Español) The management of electronic waste (e-waste) presents new sustainability challenges, prominent among these is informal electronic recycling in the developing world fed by both international and domestic sources. There is a need to mitigate environmental impacts of informal recycling while maintaining social and economic benefits of refurbishment and reuse. The development of appropriate social responses is hindered by critical data gaps, which include lack of data on trade flows of used and scrap electronics, flows invisible to trade statistics of many countries. We address this data gap by proposing and implementing an approach to quantify the exportation of used and scrap equipment from a particular country or region to the rest of the world. The approach is based on material flow analysis and combines collection of primary survey data from residential and business/public sectors with secondary data from available recycling, landfill and computer adoption studies. Exports are estimated through materials balance: exports = generated − reuse − recycling − landfill. The proposed methodology is implemented in a case study of desktop (excluding monitors) and laptop computers in the United States (US) in 2010. Results indicate that 40 million used and scrap computers entered the end-of-life management sector, from which 30% were reused domestically, 6–29% were exported, 17–21% were landfilled in domestic sites and 20–47% were collected for domestic recycling in 2010. The range in results reflects uncertainty arising from inferring end-of-life fate from individual and institutional users. Given sufficient resources to conduct a survey, the proposed materials flow analysis method can be widely applied to other devices and nations.
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