70th SWCS International Annual Conference July 26-29, 2015 Greensboro, NC

1. Payments for Hydrologic Environmental
Services and Environmental Perceptions of
Forest landowners of the Iztaccihuatl –
Popocatepetl Region in the State of Puebla,
Mexico
70th SWCS International Annual Conference, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA, July
26-29, 2015
Angel Bustamante González
Samuel Vargas López
Diego Armando Martínez Cruz
Colegio de Postgraduados, Mexico

2. FOREST DEGRADATION IN MEXICO
34% of the country (about 140
million hectares) is covered by
forests
Forests have been lost at an
average rate of 490 thousand
hectares per year
Removal and degradation of the
forest cover: degradation of the
soils and their productive
function, loss of biodiversity,
and the reduction of
environmental services
Source: SEMARNAT, 2007

3. PAYMENTS FOR HYDROLOGIC ENVIRONMENTAL
SERVICES (PSAH) PROGRAM
2003 the program began operating Nationwide
The program seeks to provide economic incentives to avoid forest cover loss
in areas with forests in good conservation and where there is a risk of
deforestation or land use change of forestry to agriculture or livestock
production, in order to maintain the hydrologic functions of these areas
The owners of the forestry lands receive a payment (originally $36/ha) for
forest protection and avoiding the change of the land use. It is required to
keep their land in good conditions, without a change of the land use, during
the period when the agreement is established
by December 2011, 2.42 million hectares were enrolled under PSAH
agreement
It is part of the protection of the basins, the conservation of the forests and
the biodiversity, and the carbon sequestration

4. IZTACCIHUATL – POPOCATEPETL REGION
 50% of the forest has been degraded
 10% was lost in the last two decades
 PSAH began in 2003
 Forest cover changes are assessed using satellite images and visual field
assessment, but little attention has been paid to the economic and social
impacts of the program

5. POLICY QUESTIONS ON THE PAYMENTS FOR HIDROLOGIC
ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES ON THE REGION
How the program is doing in conserving forest cover?
What is the program impact on the landowner income?
Is there any impact of the program on the landowners
perceptions and willingness to accept payments for the
maintenance of the hydrologic environmental services?

6.  Assess the impacts of the PSAH program on forestry
landowners attitudes and perceptions to forest
conservation
 Assess the eagerness of forest landowners to
participate in the PSAH program
OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH

7. A questionnaire with 22 items measuring:
landowner perception on awareness of the
importance of forest conservation and
environmental forest problems
PHAS perceived benefits and intend of
participation on conservation programs
and willingness to offer hydrologic environmental
services to downstream communities was
administrated to 67 participants and 47 non-
participants landowners

8. PARTICIPANTS NON- PARTICIPANTS
Agree (%) Desagree (%) Agree (%) Desagree (%)
Forests serve only to graze
cattle, collect firewood,
remove wood or charcoal
67.1 32.8 40.5 59.6 **
Water is abundant and
inexhaustible in the forests of
my community
86.5 12.5 89.4 10.7
I have no problems in the
forest soils of my community
46.3 53.8 55.4 44.7
I do not think that my
community forests have
significant changes in the
future
73.2 26.9 74.5 25.5
Although many trees were cut
I think the forest will always
have trees
80.6 19.4 85.1 14.9
** Mann Whitney U test
Forest conservation attitudes

9. Perception of the severity of forest deterioration
PARTICIPANTS NON- PARTICIPANTS
Agree(%) Desagree (%) Agree (%) Desagree (%)
Some wild animals in the forests of
my community are extinct
82.1 17.9 89.4 10.6
Some plants have completely
disappeared from the forests of my
community
38.8 61.2 74.5 25.5 **
The rains have damaged the forest
soils of my community
17.9 82.5 31.9 68.1 **
Some springs of my community have
disappeared
82.1 17.9 91.5 8.5
Some forest land in my community
have been damaged so much that the
plants do not grow as before
58.3 41.8 55.3 44.7

10. Willingness to participate in forest conservation programs
PARTICIPANTS NON- PARTICIPANTS
Agree(%) Desagree (%) Agree (%) Desagree (%)
I would be willing to not cut trees
even if the government does not give
me any money
10.5 89.5 72.3 27.6 **
I would be willing to not cut the forest
trees of my community if I get a
payment for it
95.6 4.5 74.5 25.6
I will never participate in any
government program if I do not get a
benefit
94.0 6.0 93.6 6.4
I would plant trees in the forests of
my community even if I do not get
paid for it
92.5 7.5 91.4 8.5
I prefer a crop or cut wood from my
forest instead of 300 pesos per
hectare for forest conservation
86.6 13.4 59.6 40.4 **

11. Perceived benefits of the program
PARTICIPANTS NON- PARTICIPANTS
Agree(%) Desagree (%) Agree (%) Desagree (%)
Payments for not cutting forest
trees in my community have
benefited me
97 3 72.3 27.7
Leaving the forest without
timber extraction does not
benefit me
83.6 16.4 55.3 44.7 **
Government programs always
benefit me
94 6 91.5 8.5

12. Importance of water yield to be used in other areas (cities)
PARTICIPANTS NON- PARTICIPANTS
Agree(%) Desagree (%) Agree (%) Desagree (%)
I worry that others outside of my
community does not have
enough water
97 3 91.5 8.5 **
If my community gives water to
other towns, they have to pay for
it
16.5 83.6 12.8 87.3
If other people use water from
the forests of my community,
they must be responsible for
their preservation
7.5 92.5 29.8 70.2 **
If other towns or cities have no
water, they must obtain it from
other communities not in my
community
52.2 46.9 38.3 61.7

13. Non-participants landowners tend to
emphasize non-use value over use value,
they are aware of forest degradation, and
they are willingness to participate in
conservation programs even if they were not
paid to do so
Participant landowners tend to emphasize
economic forest value over forest
conservation, they intend to participate in
conservation programs only if they obtain an
economic benefit, and are aware that they
are in position to provide hydrologic
environmental services to downstream
communities

14. Both groups believe that the forest resource is
inexhaustible
The study provides some evidence indicating that the
PHAS has influenced the landowner perception on the
value of forest resources and hydrologic
environmental services, promoting the perception
that both have an economic value and can be traded
However it can be concluded that the payment does
not necessarily promote good practices or attitudes to
forest conservation. The PSAH has led to an utilitarian
view of resources