LAND RENTING AND PAYMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES IN THE SIERRA NORTE OF PUEBLA

Abstract

With the purpose to generate strategies for decision making in the Payments for Hydrological Environmental Services Program (PHESP) in Chignahuapan and Zacatlan, Puebla State, this research estimated the forest land rent through the opportunity cost method. Also it was determined the chemical characteristics of soils suitable for forestry under different uses to understand the impacts generated by land use change on the chemical properties of soils. Results indicated that the PHESP has not been successful in the study area. To make this program more attractive for the forest owners, it should compensate them with MEX$1,516.50 ha-1 yr-1 at least. This amount represents the opportunity cost (OC) of forest potential land use obtained from cattle land use. In addition, the OC for the agriculture and cattle potential land uses were MEX $1,829.34 ha-1year-1 from forest land use. Moreover, this study revealed that soils under forest use are more fertile and provide more and diverse environmental services than those under different uses. Thus, in addition to the forest land rent and the net benefits got from some activity over the land, a payment program for environmental services should consider the environmental impacts costs to be produced with a land use change.