Producción solar de sal en el estuario multiuso: Marco de atribución salinera-estuarina (SEAF) para la evaluación de atribución multicausal en Yavaros, Sonora, México

Israel Osuna Flores; Mario Guadalupe López Ayala

doi:10.32351/rca.v11.447

Authors

Israel Osuna Flores Autonomous Indigenous University of Mexico https://orcid.org/0009-0001-0199-2983
Mario Guadalupe López Ayala Universidad Autónoma de Occidente , Autonomous University of the West https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5377-6257

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32351/rca.v11.447

Política de Crossmark DOI: https://doi.org/10.32351/politica-crossmark

Keywords:

solar salt production, Yavaros, Yavaros-Moroncarit, effect attribution, SEAF, estuary, cumulative pressures, socioecological response, territorial sustainability, Artemia franciscana, governance

Abstract

Solar salt production depends directly on climate, seawater availability, and hydrological connectivity, yet its potential effects unfold within territories where other activities exert concurrent pressures on many of the same environmental and social variables. Yavaros, Sonora, provides a particularly useful analytical case because its saltworks are associated with the Yavaros-Moroncarit wetland complex, a Wetland of International Importance, and coexist with fisheries, aquaculture, agriculture, wastewater inputs, industrial activities, settlements, and other coastal uses. This integrative review reconstructs the available historical and contemporary evidence, identifies a marked asymmetry between a hydrological and biological baseline documented in 1987 and the limited current characterization of salt-production operations, and develops the Saltworks–Estuary Attribution Framework (SEAF). SEAF distinguishes five substantive domains—dependency, modification, response, distribution, and adaptation—while treating attribution as a cross-cutting inferential layer rather than as a sequential system process. Attribution is evaluated through convergence among plausible mechanism, spatial and temporal correspondence, a comparator or counterfactual, consideration of alternative sources, and explicit uncertainty. The framework links hydrological gradients, physicochemical and biological monitoring, remote sensing, production records, social indicators, and local ecological knowledge. Available evidence does not permit estimation of the contemporary net environmental or social impact of the Yavaros saltworks; it does specify the comparisons and time series required to test attribution hypotheses more rigorously. Salt sustainability is therefore treated as territorially coupled: it cannot be evaluated solely from internal operational performance, but also requires consideration of the integrity and governance of the estuary in which production is embedded.

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Author Biographies

Israel Osuna Flores, Autonomous Indigenous University of Mexico

Dr. Osuna is currently a Professor-Researcher at the Autonomous Indigenous University of Mexico (UNAM), affiliated with the Biotechnology Engineering Program at both the Virtual Unit and the Mochicahui Unit. He recently received an honorary doctorate from the International Organization for Inclusion and Quality Education (OIICE). He has held various positions, including Administrative Analyst and Reviewer at the National Aquaculture and Fisheries Commission; advisor to the company Acuícola Gilberto, S.C. de C.V., R.L.; and columnist for the online newspaper Phoenix Medios. He is currently the Coordinator of the Biotechnology Engineering Program (Virtual Unit) at UNAM. He teaches courses in Biology, Social and Solidarity Economy, Introduction to Biotechnology, Community Engagement Awareness, and Information Management Tools. He was Coordinator of the Projects Department at the Technology Transfer Office of the Autonomous Indigenous University of Mexico and is a member of the Sinaloa System of Researchers and Technologists. He has also been a Professor-Researcher at the same institution, where he taught courses in the Bachelor's Degree in Forestry Engineering and Sustainable Development (Forest Entomology, Biodiversity, Thesis Seminar, Environmental Projection, and Project Formulation and Evaluation), as well as in the Graduate Program in Sciences in Sustainable Development of Natural Resources (Aquaculture Production, Environmental Pollution, and Ecotoxicology). He has directed and advised two undergraduate theses and monographs and three graduate theses and dissertations. He was a member of the Academic Group on Sustainable Development. His research experience focuses on adding value to agroforestry products, pollution, and environmental toxicology. He has published articles in JCR-indexed, peer-reviewed, and popular science journals. In addition, he participates in various scientific societies and has served as a project evaluator at events such as the Pacific Regional Science Fair and the National Science Fair. He was a member of the National System of Researchers (SNI) as a Candidate from July 2002 to December 2005 and received recognition from the CONACYT Repatriation Program in 1999. His professional experience includes leading several research and outreach projects funded by COSNET and SECIHTI, as well as holding various academic and administrative positions, including: Head of the Toxic Waste Laboratory at the Center for Research in Food and Development, A.C. (Delicias Unit), and Director of Research at the Autonomous Indigenous University of Mexico (UNAM). He has been a candidate for Rector of UNAM in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico, on three occasions (2017, 2021, and 2025). He has also worked at the National Technological Institute of Mexico (Los Mochis Campus), the University of the Sea, the Autonomous University of the West, the University of Guadalajara and the Center for Research in Food and Development, A.C. (Delicias Unit), where he has developed research projects and taught courses related to Fisheries Biology, Fisheries Technology, Ecology, Zoology, Aquaculture, Environmental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology.
Mario Guadalupe López Ayala, Universidad Autónoma de Occidente, Autonomous University of the West

Mario Guadalupe López Ayala is a Mexican university professor and researcher. He holds doctoral degrees in Educational Innovation and Administration and in Psychopedagogy. He is affiliated with Universidad Autónoma de Occidente and Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, Mexico. His scholarly work integrates human-centered artificial intelligence, socio-technical systems, applied psychology, educational innovation, and AI governance. His research examines the intersections of technology, cognition, human behavior, and institutional transformation, with particular attention to their social and ethical implications. He is an author and co-author of scientific publications, leads the Human-Centered AI & Socio-Technical Systems Lab, and develops research and science communication initiatives through Phoenix24, fostering knowledge generation and its transfer to society.

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