Effects of climate change on water resources in Mexico

Abstract

PurposeThis systematic review of literature purposes to explore the impact of climate change on Mexico's water resources, exploring the impacts and efforts to address the problem as well as their effectiveness.Design/methodology/approachThe researcher relied on several tools to obtain scholarly articles. The primary approach was using preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The Journal Impact Factor was an important consideration for the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The work also excluded all journals predating 2009. The work emphasized using journal articles. However, it consulted textbooks and documents from the government and water conservation sources. Contextually the sources with the highest Journal Impact Factor index were selected, paying heed to their relevance to the topic under investigation. Fifty sources out of seventy were included in the systematic review.FindingsMexico's already strained water resources have been negatively impacted by climate change, behooving the Mexican government to implement various mitigative strategies. However, scholars reported mixed results on the effectiveness of the various policies and programs implemented by the Mexican government. Key impediments to sustainable implementations entailed the political and social contexts surrounding the conservation policies in Mexico.Originality/valueNumerous articles have explored the impact of climate change on Mexico's water resources, but many focus on a specific aspect. This work took a holistic approach, synthesizing multiple impacts and providing a sociological perspective on the effects, mitigation efforts, and implementation challenges.

The Socioeconomic Dimensions of Water Scarcity in Urban and Rural Mexico: A Comprehensive Assessment of Sustainable Development

“…Overexploited aquifers and stored water sources are susceptible to rapid deterioration in quality, which poses substantial health risks to the local population [10,27,30]. Hence, the persistent shortage of water for human consumption poses a persistent issue that is anticipated to intensify due to the influence of climate change conditions and the increasing demands of urban centers [1,3,5,35]. If drought conditions are exacerbated, these communities may experience elevated socioeconomic setbacks, including financial, temporal, and political trade-offs, in their pursuit of water supply, such as a reliance on water trucks, bottled water, or long-distance water transportation [21,27,36].…”

“…The importance of water resource management becomes increasingly significant when considering the compounding effects of climate change [35,42]. The escalating consequences of rising temperatures, shifting precipitation patterns, and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events impose formidable challenges on the availability of water.…”

“…Given the geological and hydrological characteristics of the region, along with projections of climate scenarios that indicate reduced water availability in the future [35], the state of Nuevo Leon is primarily composed of arid ecosystems that occupy approximately 87.3% of the land area [24]. A comparatively small portion (6.7%) is dedicated to forest ecosystems [24].…”

“…A comparatively small portion (6.7%) is dedicated to forest ecosystems [24]. Considering the expected climate variability and potential exacerbation of extreme events, adaptation strategies are necessary to cope with evolving conditions [35,42]. Moreover, increased investment in the manufacturing and industrial sectors and the continuous population growth of the MMA pose significant pressure on and competition for water resources among the rural population [11,54].…”

“…The poverty situation in the rural population can lead to migration and the abandonment of agricultural activities [60]. Monterrey is susceptible to more immigration flows that will increase the population's water demand, which impacts the socioeconomic situation and increasingly complicates the achievement of the SDGs [35,43].…”