Economic Assessment of the Impact of the Sugarcane Industry: An Empirical Approach with Two Focuses for San Luis Potosí, México

Pedro Pérez Medina (), María Guadalupe Galindo Mendoza, Gregorio Álvarez Fuentes, Leonardo David Tenorio Martínez and Valter Armando Barrera López
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Pedro Pérez Medina: Multidisciplinary Graduate Program in Environmental Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Av. Manuel Nava 201, 2o. piso, Zona Universitaria, San Luis Potosí 78210, Mexico
María Guadalupe Galindo Mendoza: National Laboratory for Geoprocessing of Phytosanitary Information, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Av. Sierra Leona #550-2a, Primer Piso, Lomas de San Luis, San Luis Potosí 78210, Mexico
Gregorio Álvarez Fuentes: Desert Areas Research Institute, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, De Altaír 200, Col. del Llano, San Luis 78377, Mexico
Leonardo David Tenorio Martínez: Faculty of Economics, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Av. de los Pintores s/n, Burócrátas de Estado, San Luis Potosí 78213, Mexico
Valter Armando Barrera López: Coordination for the Innovation and Application of Science and Technology, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Av. Sierra Leona #550-2a, Lomas de San Luis, San Luis Potosí 78210, Mexico

J, 2023, vol. 6, issue 2, 1-19

Abstract: The sugarcane industry has a high environmental impact. In countries such as Mexico, cultivation and harvesting practices consume and pollute many ecological resources. However, quantifying these impacts is difficult due to their diverse nature and different units of measurement. In this study, an approach with two focuses was taken to assess the environmental costs of the sugarcane industry in San Luis Potosí, México. The first focus is human health costs related to air pollution (black carbon) and the second one is a lifecycle assessment applied to the production phase. In the first case, four scenarios, with different concentrations and populations, were projected. Costs of 516.8 thousand USD were estimated for a scenario in which black carbon concentrations exceeded the WHO reference by one unit for the total population. In the second case, costs of 642 million USD were estimated for the impairment of seven ecosystem-based services. These estimates may vary due to the source and specificity of the information provided, but nevertheless are considered an appropriate approximation of the cost of environmental damage. It is recommended that first-hand information be collected and systematized to improve the certainty of the estimates and that changes to sugarcane agrifood systems be considered to reduce environmental costs.

Keywords: pollution; indiscriminate use of resources; harmful practices; valuation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I1 I10 I12 I13 I14 I18 I19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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