HYDROLOGIC VULNERABILITY AND FOOD PRODUCTION: THE CASE OF JALISCO, MEXICO

Resumen

Water management and planning, even when taking into account uncertainty in the availability of water, are essential elements for reliability in food production; phenomena such as droughts and temperature increase intensified by climate change determine water supply and demand in production systems. The first step in the process of adaptation to climatechange is to determine the area’s vulnerability (INECC, 2012). In this paper, hydrologic vulnerability was assessed through analyzing the ratio of water supply and demand in the main sectors that use the water found in the sub-watersheds of the state of Jalisco, Mexico, recognized as one of the main producers of staple foods in the nation. This study determined that the Altos Norte region exhibited the highest hydrologic vulnerability in Jalisco, thus identifying it as a priority region with regard to climate change adaptation, in contrast to the trend scenario projecting the collapse of the system.