Regional Universitary Unit on Arid Lands, Chapingo Autonomous University Bermejillo, 35230 Durango, México.
Department of Forest Engineering School of Agricultural and Forestry Engineering, Institute for Graduate Studies-IDEP-UCO, University of Cordoba, 14071 Cordoba, Spain.
Animal. 2019 Oct;13(10):2379-2387. doi: 10.1017/S175173111900048X. Epub 2019 Mar 18.
At a global level, dairy cow production systems (DCPS) are important sources of nourishment and profits, but they generate environmental impacts such as overexploitation of different resources including water, lands and fossil energy. Quantification of water and carbon footprint to define mitigation strategies and a more rational use of natural resources, is a reiterated claim. The aim of this study was to perform an economic evaluation of the environmental impact of the DCPS from the Comarca Lagunera, Mexico (24°N, 102°W, 220 mm, hot-semiarid climate) We contrasted the economic value (EV) generated by the DCPS with respect to the economic costs (EC) due to the greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) and the water footprint (WFP) of this DCPS. While quantifications of GHGE considered those proposed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the WFP involved the use of blue, gray and green water by the DCPS and related activities. Quantification of the EC of WFP considered an international average price of water. In the year 2017, the Comarca Lagunera registered a dairy cow inventory of 493 144 heads, with 227 142 lactating cows, which produced 2386 million liters of milk per year with an annual average EV of €525.3 million. The EC (€, millions) generated by the GHGE and WFP were €311.8 and €11 980.7, respectively, with a total EC of € 12 292.5 million. When the EV of milk production and the total environmental EC are compared, the contrast demonstrates not only the noteworthy environmental impact but also the significant and senseless biological and EC. In addition, having a large dairy cow concentration creates pollution concerns and the DCPS transfers both nutrients and water resources from an ecologically vulnerable arid region. Therefore, some mitigation strategies such as, better cow genotype, feed and manure management combined with the production of forages and grains in a different geographical region are suggested to promote an optimum use of water in order to uphold the social, economic and biologic sustainability of the Comarca Lagunera, Mexico.
在全球范围内，奶牛养殖系统（DairyCowProductionSystems，DCPS）是营养和利润的重要来源，但它们也会产生环境影响，例如过度开发包括水、土地和化石能源在内的各种资源。因此，人们反复呼吁对其进行量化，以确定减轻影响的策略并更合理地利用自然资源。本研究的目的是对来自墨西哥拉古纳地区（24°N，102°W，220mm，炎热半干旱气候）的 DCPS 的环境影响进行经济评估。我们将 DCPS 的经济价值（EV）与温室气体排放（GHGE）和水足迹（WFP）造成的经济成本（EC）进行了对比。在 GHGE 的量化方面，我们考虑了政府间气候变化专门委员会（IPCC）提出的方案，而 WFP 则涉及到 DCPS 及其相关活动所使用的蓝水、灰水和绿水。WFP 的 EC 量化考虑了国际平均水价。在 2017 年，拉古纳地区登记的奶牛存栏量为 493144 头，其中 227142 头为哺乳期奶牛，每年生产 2.386 亿升牛奶，年平均 EV 为 5.253 亿欧元。GHGE 和 WFP 造成的 EC（欧元，百万）分别为 3118 万欧元和 1.19807 亿欧元，总 EC 为 12.2925 亿欧元。当牛奶生产的 EV 和总的环境 EC 进行比较时，结果不仅显示出了显著的环境影响，还表明了这种影响的重要性和不合理性。此外，奶牛养殖的高度集中会带来污染问题，而且 DCPS 还会将营养物质和水资源从生态脆弱的干旱地区转移出去。因此，建议采取一些缓解策略，例如更好的奶牛基因类型、饲料和粪便管理，以及在不同地理区域生产饲料和谷物，以促进水的最佳利用，从而维持墨西哥拉古纳地区的社会、经济和生物可持续性。
