Lessons learned in linking science and policy in the development of payment programs for hydrological services in Mexico

Background/Question/Methods

As ecosystems are transformed and degraded, the socioeconomic impact of the loss of the ecosystem services they provide is being felt worldwide. This is particularly true for the hydrological services of forests and wetlands whose transformation results in increased flood-drought cycles, storm damage, soil erosion and sedimentation, and losses in water quality than can affect human health. In Mexico, where the loss of forest ecosystems and the degradation of hydrological resources is particularly pronounced, the National Forest Commission (CONAFOR) has played an active role in designing and implementing voluntary programs making payments for the hydrological services of forests (PHS). Here we review the challenges and opportunities related to these programs, particularly in terms of insuring that relevant scientific information is available for decision makers in the evaluation and strengthening of these programs. 

Results/Conclusions

Between 2003 and 2011, CONAFOR allocated $US 520 million to ecosystem service payments involving over 5,800 community groups and private landowners and covering 3,113,000 hectares. These payments were predominately for hydrological services, but also included carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation and the improvement of agroforestry systems. The establishment of scientific advisory panels and inter-agency collaboration has helped bridge the science-policy gap and made significant improvements in these programs including: 1) a rescaling of PHS programs including a more regional focus using matching funds to enhance stakeholder involvement and better adapt programs to local conditions, 2) adjustments in payments that reflect regional differences in opportunity costs (deforestation risk) and types of forest cover, and 3) recent changes allowing local funding for long-term environmental monitoring. Nevertheless, several challenges remain including 1) the monitoring of distinct hydrological services given the complexity of their relationship with forest cover, 2) the integration of data on climate change, 3) evaluating the net impacts of the PHS programs on multiple ecosystem services and socioeconomic wellbeing in local communities, and 4) the development of novel financial mechanisms such as those used in the United States to insure program continuity in the long-term. To insure the continued availability of relevant scientific data for decision-makers financing of applied science should be refined to promote a more incremental delivery of advances, the scaling-up of scientific findings to a regional or national level, and the strengthening of government-academic partnerships for long-term monitoring that generate a constant stream of credible, policy-relevant, data. The lessons learned from this experience are readily applicable to efforts to strengthen PHS programs elsewhere in Latin America.