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6709829 
Journal Article 
Water and Payment of Environmental Services in Costa Rica 
Russo, RO; Amer Soc Agr & Biol Engineers 
2010 
AMER SOC AGRICULTURAL & BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERS 
ST JOSEPH 
WOS:000395656400052 
Costa Rica has been a leader among Latin American countries in the design of and development of a system of payment for environmental services (ES) to preserve its forests. Since 1997, a program locally called "Pagos de Servicios AMBIENTALES (known as PSA in Spanish, or Payments for Environmental Services, PES in English), has been providing payments to farmers and forest owners for reforestation, forest conservation, and sustainable forest management activities. Costa Rica's Forest Law 7575 recognizes four ES provided by the forest ecosystems: i) Carbon sequestration and storage (mitigation of GHG emissions); ii) Watershed protection (hydrological services); iii) Biodiversity protection (conservation); and iv) Landscape beauty (for recreation and ecotourism). Furthermore, this PES program has been an instrument of wealth redistribution that comes to fortify the family economies in rural areas. 
payment for environmental services; environmental services; Watershed protection; hydrological services; Costa Rica 
21st Conference on Century Watershed Technology - Improving Water Quality and Environment 
Guacimo, COSTA RICA