Enrique Tocados (University of Córdoba) participated in the XIV Congress of the Spanish Association for Agrifood Economics (AEEA), which took place in Zaragoza (Spain) on September 6 to 8, 2023. He presented the work titled “Analysis of the evolution of the water-energy nexus in the Axarquia region, 1990-2030” to an audience of approximately 30 people from the scientific community. The communication will be published shortly in the event’s proceedings.
The study, which was co-authored by Javier Martínez, Jaime Espinosa and Julio Berbel, analyses the recent evolution of the water-energy nexus and the carbon balance in La Axarquia, the region where BONEX is implementing one of its demonstration projects. The results obtained show a current water deficit of 42 hm3, which is explained by the exponential development of subtropical crops in the region, where water needs are now 30% higher than the current water rights concessions. The outlook shows a worrying horizon for 2030 with an exponential increase in emissions in the period 2022-2030 due to the implementation of energy-intensive processes for the introduction of alternative water sources in the system. On the other hand, considering net carbon emissions, the study shows that there is a positive balance of 176,413 t of CO2eq captured by the cultivated plant mass, offsetting the emissions produced in the agricultural system, thus contributing to the improvement of the environment and the mitigation of climate change.
