Valoración económica ambiental del recurso aire en el sector urbano marginal del cantón Riobamba

Abstract

In order to meet the objective of achieving the environmental economic valuation of the air resource in the marginal urban sector of Riobamba canton, it was defined first the baseline of its quality information extracted from the "Technical reports on air quality in Riobamba and surrounding sectors” of Environmental Management Direction, Sanitation and Hygiene, as well as a monitoring project for sedimentable and volatile particulate material developed at Universidad Nacional de Chimborazo. Two marginal urban subsectors were identified to establish the population and calculate the sample. Subsequently, the Contingent Valuation Method was used, which is based on the creation of a hypothetical market for this environmental good that does not possess it. Following the methodology, a total of 205 surveys were applied to residents in the demarcated areas. Once the answers were obtained, all the information was tabulated divided into three sections: socio-demographic and productive economic field, background and, environmental awareness and value in improving air quality. Statgraphics XVII software was used to determine the average willingness to pay (WTP) and the construction of a linear regression model to estimate the WTP projection for the years 2020 to 2023. The average annual WTP per person in the marginal urban sector of Riobamba canton was estimated at $0.824; giving a total WTP value per year in relation to the number of households that are willing to contribute $137.83. With the help of ANOVA variance analysis, using the F-test and multiple ranges, a reliable comparison study was achieved between the urban, marginal urban and rural sectors of Riobamba canton. On the basis of these statistical parameters it was concluded that there are significant differences between these sectors with respect to their WTP.