Willingness to pay for hydrological ecosystem services in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico

Introduction: The city of Xalapa, Veracruz, faces a drinking water supply problem that increases every year due, among other factors, to deforestation and population growth. Objective: To determine the willingness to pay (WTP) of domestic water users for forest conservation, taking into account the recharge zones of the Pixquiac sub-basin.Materials and methods: A structured survey was designed and randomly applied to a representative sample of 113 households in Xalapa. The information was analyzed using an econometric model identifying the main social, economic and environmental aspects related to WTP for hydrological service for domestic use.Results and discussion: The potential annual WTP amounts to 17 243 032.08 MXN by domestic water service users in Xalapa, Veracruz; 92.04 % of the population has an average monthly WTP of 10.23 MXN for the conservation of forest areas. This value is considered high in relation to other studies whose average contribution per person is 5.00 MXN and may be due to the high level of awareness that exists in the region about the importance of forests. Income, source of income, educational level and age are significant variables positively related to WTP.Conclusion: There is WTP by users that can be used to encourage forest conservation in water recharge zones in the study area.