Watershed Services Research Articles

Supporting Rural Livelihoods and Ecosystem Services Conservation in the Pico Duarte Coffee Region of the Dominican Republic

Successful conservation strategies have increasingly looked beyond bounded protected areas and toward integrated landscape approaches that conserve biodiversity while maintaining ecosystem services that benefit human communities and food production. More integrated approaches to conservation are particularly timely in agricultural landscapes, where individual farm-level choices can play a significant role in the management of habitat provisioning, nutrient cycling, recreation amenities, carbon sequestration, and the delivery of clean water. This study presents results of an interdisciplinary analysis with shade coffee farmers in the Pico Duarte region of the Dominican Republic. Findings suggest that small farms, as part of a diversified livelihood strategy, maintain a diverse tree canopy, which supports soil conservation and important watershed services. However, high poverty levels and strong economic pressures to convert to high-input, monoculture crops are threatening native tree species biodiversity and the provisioning of ecosystem services (e.g., delivery of clean water and carbon sequestration) to local beneficiaries, as well as to national and international actors. A coordinated effort to support smallholder shade coffee farmers across the landscape through agricultural extension, capacity building, and other market-and-non-market-based interventions offer the potential to improve rural livelihoods and ecosystem services conservation over the long-term.

Priority areas for watershed service conservation in the Guapi-Macacu region of Rio de Janeiro, Atlantic Forest, Brazil

Introduction: Land use intensification and urbanisation processes are degrading hydrological ecosystem services in the Guapi-Macacu watershed of Rio de Janeiro. A proposal to pay farmers to restore natural watershed services might be an alternative to securing the water supply in the long-term for the around 2.5 million urban water users in the study region. This study quantifies the costs of changing current land use patterns to enhance watershed services and compares these costs to the avoided costs associated with water treatment for public supply. Methods: We use farm-household data to estimate the opportunity costs of abandoning current land uses for the recovery of natural vegetation; a process that is very likely to improve water quality in terms of turbidity due to reduced inputs from erosion. Opportunity cost estimates are extrapolated to the watershed scale based on remote sensing land use classifications and vulnerability analysis to identify priority zones for watershed management interventions. To assess the potential demand for watershed services, we analyse water quality and treatment cost data from the main local water treatment plant. Results: Changing agricultural land uses for watershed services provision generally comes at high opportunity costs in our study area near to the metropolis of Rio de Janeiro. Alternative low cost watershed conservation options do exist in the livestock production sector. These options have the potential to directly reduce the amount of sediments and nutrients reaching the water bodies, and in turn decrease the costs of treatment needed for drinking water. Land cover changes at the scale needed to improve water quality will, nonetheless, likely exceed the cost of additional investments in water treatment. Conclusions: The state water utility company’s willingness to pay for watershed services alone will not be enough to induce provision of additional watershed services. We conclude that monetary incentives conditioned on specific adjustments to existing production systems could still have a complementary role to play in improving watershed services. However, we note that our willingness to pay analysis focusses on only one of the potentially wide range of ecosystem services provided by natural vegetation in the Guapi-Macacu watershed. Factoring these ecosystem services into the willingness to pay equation is likely to change our assessment in favour of additional conservation action, be it through PES or other policy instruments.

The role of cloud forest restoration on energy security

The conservation of cloud forests has recently been recognized as important for the optimal operation of hydropower infrastructure. However, large areas of cloud forest have been deforested globally, which may suggest that many tropical dams, downstream of these deforested areas, are currently operating at suboptimal levels. This is the case in a country like Colombia where 55% of pre-colonial cloud forests have disappeared. Incentives like Payments for Watershed Services have tried to involve Colombia׳s energy sector in improved watershed conservation with limited success. Since hydropower companies likely benefit significantly from eco-hydrological services provided by cloud forests, a new generation of incentives for facilitating their engagement in ecosystem protection is desperately needed. Through simulation of the effect of cloud forest restoration on the hydropower output of the Calima dam system, using innovative process based eco-hydrological models and dam operational modeling, we explore the implications of cloud forest restoration for energy security and expansion in Colombia and propose an innovative financial mechanism to help engage energy companies further in improved cloud forest protection in Colombia and beyond.

Deforestation-induced costs on the drinking water supplies of the Mumbai metropolitan, India

The success of incorporating natural capital into resource- and land-use decisions hinges on the ability to quantify the ecosystem services, forecast the returns to the investments, convert these values into effective policy and finance mechanisms, and the presence of well-functioning institutions and infrastructure. However, ecosystem production functions i.e., the relationship between regulatory functions of the ecosystem and the economic activity it protects or supports are often poorly understood. Even with respect to Forest Watershed Services – a service that is widely recognized and even institutionalized through market based mechanisms in some parts of the world – the biophysical relationships between forests and services such as stream flow stabilization, water quality and water quantity are undefined, particularly for the tropics. For this reason, this study through time series data and multivariate analysis characterizes the relationships between Forest Cover (all lands with tree cover of a canopy density of 10% and above when projected vertically on the horizontal ground with minimum areal extent of 1ha), water quality and cost of water treatment in the Western Ghats of peninsular India. In particular, the recursive relationship between the economic and environmental components is estimated by tracing the effects through the two-stage model. Annual value of impacts (increased ‘treatment cost’, increased ‘water losses due to backwash and desludging’, and changes in ‘water yield’) induced by loss of Forest Cover is estimated as 64.96 Indian rupee/m3 treated water/ha/year ($1.32/m3 treated water/ha/year). At an annual rate of change in the forest cover by −0.0088% (average annual rate of change in the forest cover between the years 1994–2007) the deforestation induced costs translate to 3.73 million Indian rupee/year ($0.075million/year) according to the 2010–2011 prices for the Panjrapur treatment plant of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai. Thus, if deforestation is avoided the Municipal Corporation can save significant amount towards recurring costs of water treatment and to some extent mitigate the costs for the development of a new source.

Economic Assessment of Best Management Practices in the Mara River Basin: Toward Implementing Payment for Watershed Services

The Mara River in East Africa is currently experiencing poor water quality and increased fluctuations in seasonal flow. Improved water quality will require upstream farmers and foresters to adopt Best Management Practices (BMPs), which might cost them considerably. This study proposes a Payment for Watershed Services (PWS) mechanism. This is a market-based approach, whereby downstream water users would pay upstream watershed service providers towards the costs of BMPs implementation. This study analyzes the technical feasibility and economic viability of adapting selected BMPs and provides cost estimates of a PWS program. Using three criteria of water quality improvement, economic feasibility, and technical suitability, a detailed economic opportunity cost analysis revealed that farmers would indeed incur economic losses for all BMPs except no-till farming. We also developed a multi-criteria (demographic and environmental) methodology for identifying land areas to be placed under BMPs. More than 122,000 ha of land would require BMPs, including a moratorium on agriculture inside the Mau Forest Complex. The initial per hectare opportunity costs across the five highest ranked BMPs ranged from US$ 272 to US$ 926. Using these cost estimates, the paper draws some valuable policy and management insights on how to finance BMP implementation.

Do PES Improve the Governance of Forest Restoration?

Payments for Environmental Services (PES) are praised as innovative policy instruments and they influence the governance of forest restoration efforts in two major ways. The first is the establishment of multi-stakeholder agencies as intermediary bodies between funders and planters to manage the funds and to distribute incentives to planters. The second implication is that specific contracts assign objectives to land users in the form of conditions for payments that are believed to increase the chances for sustained impacts on the ground. These implications are important in the assessment of the potential of PES to operate as new and effective funding schemes for forest restoration. They are analyzed by looking at two prominent payments for watershed service programs in Indonesia—Cidanau (Banten province in Java) and West Lombok (Eastern Indonesia)—with combined economic and political science approaches. We derive lessons for the governance of funding efforts (e.g., multi-stakeholder agencies are not a guarantee of success; mixed results are obtained from a reliance on mandatory funding with ad hoc regulations, as opposed to voluntary contributions by the service beneficiary) and for the governance of financial expenditure (e.g., absolute need for evaluation procedures for the internal governance of farmer groups). Furthermore, we observe that these governance features provide no guarantee that restoration plots with the highest relevance for ecosystem services are targeted by the PES.

Farmer participation in the equitable payments for watershed services in Morogoro, Tanzania

This article contributes to the limited empirical evidence on the determinants of farmers' participation decision in agricultural land (land use-modifying) payments for ecosystem services (PES) in developing countries. It examines how farmer and farm characteristics, programme factors, and the institutional context of its implementation determine farmers' decisions to participate in the Equitable Payments for Watershed Services (EPWS) programme in Morogoro, Tanzania, to shed light on participation in land use-modifying PES programmes more widely. The EPWS programme in the Kibungo Juu ward of Morogoro promotes the adoption of sustainable land management practices such as agro-forestry, reforestation and terracing to improve quality and quantity of water for downstream users. We used a multi-method approach to make use of both qualitative and quantitative data. We found that farm size, information, participation of farmers in the programme design and the needed degree of change in land management determined the adoption of sustainable land management practices. To foster the participation of small farmers, attention needs to be paid to the availability and access to information, participation of farmers in the design of programmes, local compatibility of practices, and support for initial costs of adoption.

Urban Watershed Services for Improved Ecosystem Management and Risk Reduction, Assessment Methods and Policy Instruments: State of the Art

Under scenarios of increasing unplanned urban expansion, environmental degradation and hazard exposure, the vulnerability of urban populations, especially of their poorer segments, needs to be tackled through integrated economic, social and environmental solutions. Basing our analysis on the concept of ecosystem services, we suggest that urban areas would benefit from a shift in perspective towards a more regional approach, which recognizes them as one of many interconnected elements that interact at the watershed level. By integrating an ecosystem approach into the management of water-related services, urban management policies can take a first step towards fostering an improvement of the health of upstream and downstream areas of the watershed, activating environmentally sound practices which aim at guaranteeing the sustainable and cost effective supply of services. These strategies can for instance be supported by using payment schemes for ecosystem services or similar strategies, allowing for the redistribution of resources among communities in the watershed. From our analysis it results that, through the recognition of the primary role played by watershed ecosystems, cities can benefit from an enlarged set of policies, which can help strengthen the supply of essential environmental services, while reducing the vulnerability of its population and contributing to the maintenance of healthy ecosystems.

PES marketplace development at the local scale: The Eugene Water and Electric Board as a local watershed services marketplace driver

Payments for ecosystems services (PES) is increasingly recognized as a way to protect and enhance ecosystems by linking beneficiaries and providers through various payment options and voluntary supply arrangements. The concept of the local marketplace, which uses a non-commodity, expanded view of the PES marketplace, has significant potential for non-fungible PES such as watershed services. Water utilities can be key drivers in development of such marketplaces as they are prominent actors in communities and watersheds, and they are typically strategically situated between PES purchasers and potential providers. This article explores the potential for local PES marketplaces and the role of water utilities in their development through a case study of the Voluntary Incentives Program (VIP), a PES initiative under development by the Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB) in Eugene, Oregon. Using a mixed method research approach to explore institutional and social acceptability issues, findings suggest strong support for the program, and for EWEB's role among providers and purchasers. Implications include, among other things, the significant potential for water utilities to act as local marketplace drivers and the importance of carefully designing local PES programs to meet local marketplace needs and support.

Watershed services payments to smallholders in the Brazilian Amazon: challenges and perspectives

Several hydrobiogeochemical research activities have been conducted in the Eastern Amazon, contributing to the understanding of how changes in forests and agro-ecosystems affect the provision of services to ecosystems. The findings have demonstrated that good agricultural practices and the presence of natural secondary vegetation favored by the management of small family farms are important factors for hydrobiogeochemical cycling, aquatic ecosystem conservation, soil conservation, and mitigation of trace gases emissions from biomass burning in Amazonian small catchments. Two challenges for watershed service management arise in this context. First, low population densities and the relatively flat landscape mean that a critical mass of downstream beneficiaries of such services - a prerequisite for public intervention is more difficult to identify than in more densely populated mountainous areas. Second, although watershed service providers (farmers) are also to a considerable extent service beneficiaries, conflicts over land and cultural heterogeneities among settlers inhibit local collective action to safeguard the quality of stream water. Including small landholders in carbon payment schemes that compensate for the maintenance of riverbank vegetation would appear to be a cost-effective means to secure watershed services as additional benefits of forest-based mitigation of climate change.

Research and Application of EPWS (Equitable Payment for Watershed Service) by Measuring Sediments Based on GIS Technology

The first successful EPWS(Equitable Payment for Watershed Service) case is in Peru where there had finished whole three phases with excellent operation under the internal motive force between upstream community and downstream water supply company from 2009 to date. In China, the first EPWS programme in 2011 had followed the successful EPWS cases to find the adaptability of EPWS development in other watershed in Chian. Rapid hydrology appraisal for EPWS is most basis technology need. In this study, the sedimentation has been assessed and forecasted by GIS technology by using the measured sediment data. The average contribution of SS loads from Yuping Village and Ganzikou Village were about 67 % of EPWS area. This rapid hydrology appraisal had paid a key role to cause the signature of MOU on June 1th 2012 between upstream communities and downstream hydropower station. The next phase of EPWS will be carried out the planned livelihood strategies within water and soil erosion protection by upstream communities, then produced watershed service (reduced sediments) will be monitored and assessed by downstream hydropower station or other organizations.

Estimating the value of watershed services following forest restoration

Key Points WTP for upland watershed restoration is $183.50/yr per household Annual benefits of upland forest restoration are $400,000 Benefits have a policy application for forested watershed restoration

The role of Cloud Affected Forests (CAFs) on water inputs to dams

Cloud Affected Forest (CAF) environments are among the most threatened forest ecosystems of the planet. Yet, they are responsible for the supply of stable clean water, through dams, to many human communities across the tropics. Payment for Watershed Services (PWS) schemes can play a key role to mitigate CAF degradation in dam watersheds. However, a thorough scientific understanding of the hydrological role of CAFs in achieving dam performance goals is paramount to ensure the correct implementation of such financial mechanisms. By creating the most detailed dam census across the global extent of CAFs (The King’s College London Tropical Database of Dams—KCL TDD) we explored the potential contribution of CAFs to water inputs to dams in order to inform implementation of regional PWS strategies. Results indicate that whilst CAFs cover only 4.4% of the tropical extent of dam watersheds they receive and filter almost 50% of the surface water balance over the same area. This remarkable finding reveals both, the vital role of CAFs in stable clean water supply to tropical dams, and the considerable opportunities to optimize the performance of dams by targeting the often limited resources to improved protection of CAFs in dam watersheds.

Cost-benefit analysis of riparian protection in an eastern Canadian watershed

Forested riparian buffers have proved to be an effective management practice that helps maintain ecological goods and services in watersheds. In this study, we assessed the non-market benefits and opportunity costs associated with implementing these buffers in an eastern Canadian watershed using contingent valuation and wood supply modeling methods, respectively. A number of buffer scenarios were considered, including 30 and 60 m buffers on woodlots and on all land (including woodlots, agricultural, and residential lands) in the watershed. Household annual WTP estimates ranged from −$6.80 to $42.85, and total present value benefits ranged from −$11.7 to $121.7 million (CDN 2007), depending on the buffer scenario, affected population, time horizon, and econometric modeling assumptions considered. Opportunity cost estimates range from $1.3 to $10.4 million in present value terms, depending on silvicultural and agriculture land rental rate assumptions. Overall, we found that the net present value of riparian buffers was positive for the majority of scenarios and assumptions. Some exceptions were found under more conservative benefit, and higher unit cost, assumptions. These results provide decision makers with data on stated benefits and opportunity costs of riparian buffers, as well as insight into the importance of modeling assumptions when using this framework of analysis.

Payments for Watershed Protection Services: Emerging Lessons from the Philippines

There is growing interest on payments for ecosystem services (PES) in developing countries including the Philippines. Watersheds have been degraded through deforestation and subsequent conversion to other land cover, principally for agriculture. In the last decade, several Payments for Watershed Services schemes have been implemented and this paper is an attempt to assess the form of incentives or rewards that have been provided to upland communities in a number of sites under different management leadership in the Philippines. We reviewed four cases specifically related to watershed services in the: 1) Bakun Watershed, 2) Maasin Watershed, 3) Sibuyan Watershed, and 4) Baticulan Watershed. The case studies of varying stages of implementation has shown that the chances of success of PES schemes in promoting watershed conservation and rehabilitation as well as in improving the livelihoods of upland communities is constrained by incomplete information and knowledge about the interaction between ecosystem properties and provision of services, and the difficulty in establishing voluntary participation and conditionality of payments. In this paper, we argued that institutions may enable or hinder the successful implementation of PES. The role of the local government as intermediaries is crucial in the process of establishing PES more particularly in the information dissemination and education of the key stakeholders. The case studies also showed how PES programs are reinforced by the presence of non-government organizations.

Households’ Willingness to Pay for Improved Watershed Services of the Layawan Watershed in Oroquieta City, Philippines

Watersheds provide numerous ecosystem services to downstream communities often with no cost to them. Although these services are valuable to humans, they do not have monetary values attached to them, making their total economic value quite ambiguous. This ambiguity results in the non-optimal use of the natural resources that leads to the degradation of the watersheds. One approach that could address this issue is payments for ecological services (PES). The main objective of this study was to estimate the willingness-to-pay for improved watershed services by domestic water users within the Layawan Watershed in Oroquieta City. It employed the contingent valuation method to assess the willingness to pay of water users. More than 50% of the respondents voted positively to the referendum question which is whether they are willing to pay a certain amount for the conservation of the Layawan Watershed or not. The computed mean willingness to pay amounts were Php 57.48 and Php 53.89 per month per household for the parametric and non-parametric estimations, respectively. These amounts translate to 0.68% of the average monthly household income of the sample respondents, which is approximately Php 8 198.84. The amounts computed may serve as bases for a water user fee that may be collected from the domestic water users in the Layawan Watershed as buyers of the watershed services.

Forests and trees for social adaptation to climate variability and change

AbstractEcosystems provide important services that can help people adapt to climate variability and change. Recognizing this role of ecosystems, several international and nongovernmental organizations have promoted an ecosystem‐based approach to adaptation. We review the scientific literature related to ecosystem‐based adaptation (EBA) with forests and trees, and highlight five cases in which forests and trees can support adaptation: (1) forests and trees providing goods to local communities facing climatic threats; (2) trees in agricultural fields regulating water, soil, and microclimate for more resilient production; (3) forested watersheds regulating water and protecting soils for reduced climate impacts; (4) forests protecting coastal areas from climate‐related threats; and (5) urban forests and trees regulating temperature and water for resilient cities. The literature provides evidence that EBA with forests and trees can reduce social vulnerability to climate hazards; however, uncertainties and knowledge gaps remain, particularly for regulating services in watersheds and coastal areas. Few studies have been undertaken on EBA specifically, but the abundant literature on ecosystem services can be used to fill knowledge gaps. Many studies assess the multiple benefits of ecosystems for human adaptation or well‐being, but also recognize trade‐offs between ecosystem services. Better understanding is needed of the efficiency, costs, and benefits, and trade‐offs of EBA with forests and trees. Pilot projects under implementation could serve as learning sites and existing information could be systematized and revisited with a climate change adaptation lens. WIREs Clim Change 2012, 3:581–596. doi: 10.1002/wcc.195This article is categorized under: Climate, Ecology, and Conservation > Modeling Species and Community Interactions

Evaluating watershed service availability under future management and climate change scenarios in the Pangani Basin

Watershed services are the benefits people obtain from the flow of water through a watershed. While demand for such services is increasing in most parts of the world, supply is getting more insecure due to human impacts on ecosystems such as climate or land use change. Population and water management authorities therefore require information on the potential availability of watershed services in the future and the trade-offs involved.In this study, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is used to model watershed service availability for future management and climate change scenarios in the East African Pangani Basin. In order to quantify actual “benefits”, SWAT2005 was slightly modified, calibrated and configured at the required spatial and temporal resolution so that simulated water resources and processes could be characterized based on their valuation by stakeholders and their accessibility. The calibrated model was then used to evaluate three management and three climate scenarios.The results show that by the year 2025, not primarily the physical availability of water, but access to water resources and efficiency of use represent the greatest challenges. Water to cover basic human needs is available at least 95% of time but must be made accessible to the population through investments in distribution infrastructure. Concerning the trade-off between agricultural use and hydropower production, there is virtually no potential for an increase in hydropower even if it is given priority. Agriculture will necessarily expand spatially as a result of population growth, and can even benefit from higher irrigation water availability per area unit, given improved irrigation efficiency and enforced regulation to ensure equitable distribution of available water. The decline in services from natural terrestrial ecosystems (e.g. charcoal, food), due to the expansion of agriculture, increases the vulnerability of residents who depend on such services mostly in times of drought. The expected impacts of climate change may contribute to an increase or decrease in watershed service availability, but are only marginal and much lower than management impacts up to the year 2025.

Lake watershed management: Services, monitoring, funding and governance

This study discusses some insights for adaptive lake management from the perspective of ecosystem services (ES). Based on evidence from 46 advanced Payments for Watershed Services (PWS) projects implemented in 16 developing countries, and an interactive governance interpretation of this evidence, three layers of services for watershed management are distinguished, including (i) ES provided by ecosystems; (ii) land-water conservation services (CS) provided by upstream citizens; and (iii) intermediary organizing services (OS) provided by watershed management organizations. The three-layer service perspective indicates the need for management regime shifts regarding monitoring, funding and governance. A multilayer regime shift between monitoring, funding and governance for lake management also is discussed, using a Bolivian PWS scheme as an illustration. It indicates how lake management organizations can provide intermediary OS to coordinate exchanges between upstream payees and downstream payers. Upstream payees provide land-water CS to obtain supply-side payments. Land-water CS improve water-related ES to enhance downstream land-water uses. Downstream payers provide demand-side payments and benefit from better land-water uses. This study was undertaken to broaden the vision of managing lakes and their watersheds and to guide policymakers, managers and other stakeholders in adopting adaptive management regimes for both locally and globally sustainable development.

Payments for watershed services: Directing incentives for improving lake basin governance

This study introduces the emerging integrated ecosystem management approach known as Payments for Watershed Services (PWS) as utilized for lake and reservoir basin governance. PWS is built on the central concept of providing economic incentives to watershed stakeholders to assist in management efforts. It channels conservation payments from downstream payers to finance conservation activities conducted by upstream payees. The upstream conservation activities are expected to enhance ecosystem functions, thereby improving water-related ecosystem services desired by downstream stakeholders. Information on 163 PWS projects in 34 developing countries through the year 2008 was collected and analysed, including their common goals, processes, outcomes, scientific assumptions and socioeconomic rationales. This study recognized one unique PWS characteristic, namely the role of intermediary organizations (i.e. brokers) in integrating the economic incentives of upstream payees and downstream payers in order to facilitate their transactions by means of contracts. Although 75% of the reviewed PWS projects have focused on rivers, and only 10% have considered lakes and reservoirs, the similarity of the intermediary functions performed by lake management organizations and PWS intermediary organizations suggests a greater potential for the future application of PWS designs in lake basins. Drawing on components in the field of New Institutional Economics to interpret the intermediary function within the PWS framework, a three-part PWS design with 15 steps is proposed in this study for lake basin governance, with a Costa Rican PWS scheme serving as an illustration. This study seeks to communicate the scientific and socioeconomic frontiers for developing locally suitable and integrated watershed governance structures to lake management organizations and other watershed stakeholder groups.