Proposal for sustainability of the water ecosystem service in productive systems of the associative group ASOENSAY Propuesta para sostenibilidad del servicio ecosistémico hídrico en sistemas productivos del grupo asociativo ASOENSAY

Abstract

    In rural areas, the supply of water comes from ecosystem services that allow the distribution of this resource in agricultural, livestock and household activities. This generates alterations in the water’s quality and long-term availability. Some studies suggest this deterioration comes mainly from the productive chain of the agricultural sector. This scenario led to the structuring of a model that contributed to the sustainability of the water ecosystem service. To do so, the sources supplying the farms of the associative group ASOENSAY in San Isidro village were characterized through a physical-chemical and microbiological sampling. Additionally, a structured survey was conducted, which allowed the collection of information concerning water uses and practices that producers considered viable to implement according to their socio-economic and productive dynamics.

    The results established that the water is good in terms of quality indices, whereas the qualifications ranged from low to very low at the level of pollution. As a result, the availability of the water ecosystem service and the benefit that producers obtain by taking advantage of quality and quantity to supply activities of the rural environment should correspond to a water sustainability proposal that evidenced the uses of water as a variable that conditioned the supply of the resource. Therefore, a set of management measures were determined allowing the balance of the supply-demand relationship in the established model. It was concluded that the water accessed has favorable characteristics that make it possible to boost productive activities. This is why producers must facilitate the implementation of preventive, mitigation and compensation practices that guarantee the availability of the water ecosystem service for future generations.