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Payment for ecosystem services (PES) is an economic tool that seeks to compensate landowners for the conservation of their forested lands and reduce the negative impacts of land use change in forest areas that are important for the provision of ecosystem services (ES). However, it is essential to verify that the implementation of this mechanism is focused on where it is most needed. In this study, an analysis of the evolution of PES in the Pixquiac sub-basin in Veracruz was carried out, and the degree of coincidence between the supported areas and hydrological priority areas was evaluated. Information regarding the fiscal years of PES in the region from 2003 - 2016 was statistically analyzed, and the priority areas and areas of PES were determined using geographic information systems. Results showed that payments amounted to USD 1,076,782 in an area of 5,450 ha during the period analyzed. However, only 881.58 ha (24.5 % of the total hydrological priority areas) were considered in this payment scheme. Decision-makers must have up-to-date information that allows them to focus available resources at a more precise spatial scale. In addition, efforts must be made by the actors involved to ensure greater participation by forest owners and ecosystem service users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are more than 4 billion hectares of forests in the world, which corresponds to 31 % of the surface of our planet. In Chile, 17 million ha of forests cover the country where more than 3 million correspond to plantations. The role of vegetation cover in the dynamics of precipitation, in the generation of runoff and in the protection and conservation of degraded land is known. This cover plays an important role in the hydrological cycle and its balance, especially in the north central zone to the south. A new impulse is required in research, both from the Government and the private sector, as well as reformation to public policies, thus articulating research in forest hydrology with an imperative sense of integrality. Therefore, this document presents a proposal for the development of research in forest hydrology with an integral and decentralization approach. Highly capable scientific human capital in Chile, organized in geographically defined nuclei, would be capable of answering relevant research questions in forest hydrology that would support public policies based on scientific evidence. All this, under the auspices of a technical integrating entity to allow a fluid conversation and discussion of the actors of the forestry sector, both in research matters and in the generation of public policies from an integral and multidisciplinary perspective at the catchment level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]