Valuing Watershed Services in Mexico’s Temperate Forests

Yeon-Su Kim, Jose Navar-Chaidez, Gustavo Perez-Verdin, Ramon Silva-Flores

.

DOI: 10.4236/me.2011.25085                

Abstract

Water resources are highly valuable in arid, semiarid, or high-altitude areas where the sources are restricted to groundwater or flash floods occurred in short periods of time. In this paper, we present a case study where water is economically valued through nonmarket valuation techniques. A follow-up review of similarly-conducted case studies in Mexico was carried out to evaluate the potential relationships that elevation, moisture index, and human development index have over the economic value of water. The main factors influencing the value of water in our case study were income, education, age, and family size. Bivariate correlations of the case studies in the country suggest that there is no a significant relationship between water value and elevation, although there is some relationship between water value, moisture index, and the human development index. Dryer areas and more developed communities tend to pay more for an improvement in current water resources conditions. These results can help decision-makers to consider regional policies aimed to improve water management conditions in semiarid and less-developed communities in Mexico.

Keywords

Durango, Contingent Valuation, Non-Market Valuation, Moisture Index, Water Scarcity

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	K. Froehlich and Y. Yurtserver, “Isotope Techniques for Water Resources in Arid and Semiarid Regions. Applica- tion of Tracers in Arid Zone Hydrology,” Proceedings of the Vienna Symposium, August 1994, Vol. 232, 1995, pp. 3-12.
[2]	CNA (Comisión Nacional del Agua), “Estadísticas del Agua en México. Edición 2008. SEMARNAT,” Talleres Gráficos, México, 2008
[3]	C. J. Willmott and J. J. Feddema, “A More Rational Cli- matic Moisture Index,” The Professional Geographer, Vol. 44, No. 1, 1992, pp. 84-88. doi:10.1111/j.0033-0124.1992.00084.x
[4]	D. Vivirolli, R. Weingartner and B. Messerli, “Assessing the Hydrological Significance of the World’s Moun- tains,” Mountain Research and Development, Vol. 23, No. 1, 2003, pp. 32-40.
[5]	S. Pagiola, J. Bishop and N. Landell-Mills, “La Venta de Servicios Ambientales. Mecanismos Basados en el Mercado Para la Conservación y Desarrollo,” INE-SEMARNAT, Mexico, 2003.
[6]	B. Messerli, D. Viviroli and R. Weingartner, “Mountains of the World: Vulnerable Water Towers for the 21st Century,” Ambio, Vol. 33, No. 13, 2004, pp. 29-34.
[7]	C. Lopez-Paniagua, M. J. González-Guillén, J. R. Valdez-Lazalde and H. M. de los Santos, “Demanda, Disponibilidad de Pago y Costo de Oportunidad Hídrica en la Cuenca Tapalpa, Jalisco,” Madera y Bosques, Vol. 13, No. 1, 2007, pp. 3-23.
[8]	M. G. Soto and I. J. Bateman, “Scope Sensitivity in Households’ Willingness to Pay for Maintained and Im- proved Water Supplies in a Developing World Urban Area: Investigating the Influence of Baseline Supply Quality and Income Distribution upon Stated Preferences in Mexico City,” Water Resources Research, Vol. 42, 2006, pp. 1-15.
[9]	W. F. Vasquez, P. Mozumder, J. Hernandez-Arce and R. P. Berrens, “Willingness to Pay for Safe Drinking Water: Evidence from Parral, Mexico,” Journal of Environmental Management, Vol. 90, No. 11, 2009, pp. 3391-3400. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2009.05.009
[10]	G. Aviles-Polanco, L. Huato-Soberanis, E. Troyo-Dieguez, B. Murillo-Amador, J. L. Garcia-Hernandez and L. F. Beltran-Morales, “Valoración Económica del Servicio Hidrológico del Acuífero de La Paz, B.C.S.: Una Valora- Ción Contingente del Uso de Agua Municipal,” Frontera Norte, Vol. 22, No. 43, 2010, pp. 103-128.
[11]	R. Silva-Flores, G. Perez-Verdin and J. J. Navar-Chaidez,. “Valoración Económica de los Servicios Ambientales Hidrológicos en El Salto, P.N., Durango,” Madera y Bosques, Vol. 16, No. 1, 2010, pp. 31-49.
[12]	R. Silva-Flores, “Valoración Económica de Los Servicios Ambientales Hidrológicos en el Ejido La Victoria, Pueblo Nuevo, Dgo,” Tesis Maestría, Instituto Politécnico Nacio- nal, CIIDIR—DGO, Durango, 2007.
[13]	C. Mu?oz-Pi?a, A. Guevara and J. M. T. y J. Bra?a, “Paying for the Hydrological Services of Mexico’s For- ests: Analysis, Negotiations and Results,” Ecological Economics, Vol. 65, No. 4, 2008, pp. 725-736. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2007.07.031
[14]	K. A. Brauman, C. Gretchen, T. K. Duarte and H. M. Mooney, “The Nature and Value of Ecosystem Services: An Overview Highlighting Hydrologic Services,” Annual Review of Environmental and Resources, Vol. 32, 2007, pp. 67-98. doi:10.1146/annurev.energy.32.031306.102758
[15]	E. Plottu and B. Plottu, “The Concept of Total Economic Value of Environment: A Reconsideration within a Hier- archical Rationality,” Ecological Economics, Vol. 61, No. 1, 2007, pp. 52-61. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2006.09.027
[16]	S. K. Pattanayak, “Valuing Watershed Services: Concepts and Empirics from Southeast Asia,” Agriculture, Ecosys- tems and Environment, Vol. 104, No. 1, 2004, pp. 171- 184. doi:10.1016/j.agee.2004.01.016
[17]	F. Schlapfer, “Contingent Valuation: A New Perspective,” Ecological Economics, Vol. 64, No. 4, 2008, pp. 729-740. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2007.10.010
[18]	R. C. Mitchell and R. T. Carson, “Using Surveys to Value Public Goods: The Contingent Valuation Method,” Re- sources for the Future, Washington, DC, 1989.
[19]	K. J. Boyle, “Contingent Valuation in Practice”. In: P. A. Champ, K. J. Boyle and T. C. Brown, Eds., A Primer on Nonmarket Valuation, Kluger Academic Publishers, Nor- well, 2003, pp. 111-169. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-0826-6_5
[20]	R. T. Carson and T. Groves, “Incentive and Informational Properties of Preference Questions,” Environmental & Resource Economics, Vol. 37, No. 1, 2007, pp. 181-210. doi:10.1007/s10640-007-9124-5
[21]	V. Gutierrez-Villalpando, “Valoración Económica del Agua Potable en la Zona Urbana de San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas,” Tesis de Maestría, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, San Cristóbal de las Casas, 2006
[22]	M. I. Ojeda, A. S. Mayer and B. D. Solomon, “Economic Valuation of Environmental Services Sustained by the Yaqui River Delta,” Ecological Economics, Vol. 65, No. 1, 2008, pp. 155-166. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2007.06.006
[23]	M. L. Rea and R. A. Parker, “Designing and Conducting Survey Research: A Comprehensive Guide,” Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco, 1992.
[24]	J. Murphy, G. Allen and T. Stevens, “A Meta-Analysis of Hypothetical Bias in Stated Preference Valuation,” Envi- ronmental and Resource Economics, Vol. 30, No. 3, 2005, pp. 313-325. doi:10.1007/s10640-004-3332-z
[25]	INEGI (Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática), “II Conteo de Población y Vivienda por Localidad,” Disco Compacto, México, 2005
[26]	J. M. Woolridge, “Introductory Econometrics, a Modern Approach,” Thomson South-Western, Mason, 2006.
[27]	B. Kristrom, “Spike Models in Contingent Valuation,” American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Vol. 79, No. 3, 1997, pp. 1013-1023. doi:10.2307/1244440
[28]	A. M. Freeman III, “The Measurement of Environmental and Resource Values. Theory and Methods,” Resources for the Future Press, Washington, DC, 2003.
[29]	UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), “In- dice de Desarrollo Humano Municipal en Mexico,” Mex- ico, 2010. http://www.undp.org.mx/desarrollohmano/eventos/images/CuadernilloIDHMM.pdf
[30]	UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), “Hu- man Development Report. Overcoming Barriers: Human Mobility and Development,” Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2009.
[31]	A. D. Sagar and A. Najam, “The Human Development Index: A Critical Review,” Ecological Economics, Vol. 25, No. 3, 1998, pp. 249-264. doi:10.1016/S0921-8009(97)00168-7
[32]	CONAPO (Consejo Nacional de la Población) “Indices de Desarrollo Humano 2000,” Mexico, 2010. http://www.conapo.gob.mx/publicaciones/indicesoc/IDH2000/dh_Indices.pdf
[33]	M. Kniivila, V. Ovaskainen and O. Saastaimoinen, “Costs and Benefits of Forest Conservation: Regional and Local Comparisons in Eastern Finland,” Journal of Forest Economics, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2002, pp. 131-150. doi:10.1078/1104-6899-00008
[34]	W. M. Hanemann, “Welfare Evaluations in Contingent Valuation Experiments with Discrete Responses,” American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Vol. 66, No. 3, 1984, pp. 332-341. doi:10.2307/1240800
[35]	W. M. Hanemann, “Valuing the Environment through Contingent Valuation,” The Journal of Economic Perspec- tives, Vol. 8, No. 4, 1994, pp. 19-43. doi:10.1257/jep.8.4.19
[36]	W. M. Hanemann and B. Kanninen, “The Statistical Analysis of Discrete-Response CV Data,” In: I. J. Bate- man and K. G. Willis, Eds., Valuing Environmental Pref- erences: Theory and Practice of the Contingent Valuation Method in the US, EU, and Developing Countries, Ox- ford University Press, New York, 1999, pp. 302-441.
[37]	E. Camacho-Cuena, A. Garc?a-Gallego, N. Georgantz?s and G. Sabater-Grande, “An Experimental Test of Re- sponse Consistency in Contingent Valuation,” Ecological Economics, Vol. 47, No. 2-3, 2003, pp.167-182. doi:10.1016/S0921-8009(03)00192-7
[38]	E. Sanjurjo, “Aplicación de la Metodología de Valoración Contingente Para Determinar el Valor que Asignan los Habitantes de San Luís Río Colorado a la Existencia de Flujos de Agua en la Zona del Delta del Río Colorado,” Dirección de Economía Ambiental, INE-SEMARNAT, Mexico, 2006
[39]	M. J. Jimenez-Moreno, “Valoración de Algunos Recursos Naturales, Para Conocer la Disponibilidad de Pago por Servicios Ambientales en el Municipio de Tepetlaoxtoc,” Tesis, Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, Chapingo, 2004.
[40]	A. Garcia-Angeles, “Valoración Económica de los Servi- Cios Ambientales de Santa Catarina Ixtepeji, Distrito de Ixtlán, Oaxaca,” Tesis, Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, Chapingo, 2006.
[41]	L. M. Orozco-Paredes, “Balance Hidrológico y Valoración Económica de la Producción de agua en la Microcuenca del Río Zahuapan, Tlaxco, Tlax,” Tesis, Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, Chapingo, 2006.
[42]	R. Monroy-Hernandez, “Valoración Económica del Servicio Ambiental Hidrológico en la Reserva de la Biosfera Barranca de Metztitlán, Hidalgo,” Tesis, Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, Chapingo, 2008.
[43]	L. B. Chan-Yam, “Valoración Económica del Agua Para Conocer la Disponibilidad de Pago en Comunidades Pre- sentes en áPFF Sierra álamos—Rio Cuchujaqui, álamos, Sonora,” Tesis, Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, Cha- pingo, 2007.
[44]	S. Dietz and W. N. Adger, “Economic Growth, Biodiver- Sity Loss and Conservation Effort,” Journal of Environ- mental Management, Vol. 68, No. 1, 2003, pp. 23-35. doi:10.1016/S0301-4797(02)00231-1
[45]	J. Mills and T. A. Waite, “Economic Prosperity, Biodi- versity Conservations, and the Environmental Kuznets Curve,” Ecological Economics, Vol. 68, No. 7, 2009, pp. 2087-2095. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2009.01.017