Geospatial technologies for mapping natural capital and promoting sustainable agricultural employment in Mexico

Ariel Vázquez-Elorza — 2025-08-27

Context. The use of natural capital and the distribution of employment in agriculture and livestock are unequal among Mexican regions. Some of them concentrate on ecological wealth and the employed population (rural-urban), while others show environmental degradation or underutilization of labor.

Problem. There is a lack of research that combines ecological and labor indicators in geospatial maps to support informed decision making. Are there significant spatial patterns between the Natural Capital Index (NCI) and the Principal Economic Location Quotient (PELQ) that allow identifying priority areas for sustainable development?

Purpose. This study analyzes the spatial patterns between natural capital and agricultural employment from a multidisciplinary approach that integrates environmental economics, economic geography, and spatial analysis in Mexico. It seeks to generate innovative knowledge aligned with the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs (8, 13, and 15). It is framed within social and organizational innovation according to the Oslo Manual. It promotes territorial sustainability through interaction between disciplines.

Methodology. This research is quantitative, non-experimental, and exploratory-explanatory, based on spatial and statistical analyses using 2021 secondary census and aggregated data. A geospatial database was built from official environmental and socioeconomic sources. Moran’s binomial index and LISA analysis were applied in R® to identify spatial clusters of consistency between ICN and CLEp, with statistical significance at the 95% confidence level (p ≤ 0.05).

Theoretical and practical findings. Significant positive associations were found in a total of 73 municipalities. High clustering was observed in the Northeast, Central and Southeast regions. The value of natural capital as a productive asset and the usefulness of spatial analyses to guide public policies were confirmed.

Originality. This study integrates environmental and socioeconomic variables from a spatial perspective to generate new applicable knowledge.

Conclusions and limitations. This study proposes an interdisciplinary innovation in territorial planning by integrating environmental and labor variables using spatial tools. Future research should integrate climate and institutional data to improve sustainable policy making.

Mexico´s policies for comprehensive rural development: a multidimensional approach to SDG 2. Zero Hunger

Alejandro Adame-Castañeda — 2025-09-28

Context. Agricultural production in Mexico is characterized by insufficient capacities that prevent it from achieving food security in accordance with the 2030 Agenda and SDG 2. We addressed bean cultivation in Zacatecas because it is one of the main national producers.

Problem. Mexican rural development has both social and productive dimensions. Public policies supporting rural areas focus on production, and to the extent that they fail to consider social issues, they are unable to generate conditions for development.

Purpose. Assess the extent to which Mexico has moved toward comprehensive rural development policies by analyzing bean production in Zacatecas (1990–2023). This paper addresses organizational innovation due to the social and productive intersectoral nature of the process.

Methodology. Multidimensional fuzzy inference models were designed using Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) through four aspects: production, government programs, multidimensional well-being, and development effects. Process innovation is addressed by incorporating this tool into public policy analysis. We used for the analysis the period 1990-2023 through data of official sources of local representation (municipality of Sombrerete), state (Zacatecas) and national (Mexico).

Theoretical and Practical Findings. Convergence toward the comprehensiveness of public policies for rural development was identified, explained by fluctuations caused by political, economic, and climatic factors. This highlighted the importance of the regional context in terms of their vocations and production conditions.

Originality. The use of multidimensional analysis to estimate the convergence of social and agricultural policies for development based on the productive efficiency and food security proposed in SDG 2.

Conclusions and limitations. The transition toward a comprehensive rural development policy was identified in the case of the bean valley. The context was relevant, and levels of government, resilience to climate change, and social factors should be considered. It is suggested that other crops be explored in depth to compare the results.

Scientia et PRAXIS

Geospatial technologies for mapping natural capital and promoting sustainable agricultural employment in Mexico

Mexico´s policies for comprehensive rural development: a multidimensional approach to SDG 2. Zero Hunger