Valoración económica ambiental del recurso vegetal de la parroquia Punin

Abstract

The purpose of the current research was to evaluate in an economic and environmental way the vegetal resource of Punín Parish, Riobamba County Chimborazo Province. The methodology used and applied in the characterization of the current vegetal resource of the Parish was the previous observation of the study area, the review of research works as well as visits to the authorities of different communities. To apply the surveys, it was necessary to select eight communities, the ones that were chosen due to their high number of inhabitants and a better agricultural productivity; then, 365 surveys were applied through a contingent valuation and taking into account some sociodemographic variables such as: age, educational level, marital status, ethnicity and economic income level; the ones which affected the perception of different environmental services offered by the parish. The best evaluated service was the supply service with a value of 8,5 over 10 and considered a direct-use service since it interferes in the economic income through its commercialization in nearby markets. The total weighted average of environmental services like supply, regulation, support and cultural service of Punín parish is 8,5 over 10 considered an important value for the users according to the scale used in this study. The disposition to pay for the conservation and recovery of vegetal resource calculated was 10,64 dollars, monetary value that users from Punín Parish are not intended to pay for different reasons, despite they reflected a deep sense for protecting the vegetal resource of their Parish. The total economic value of the vegetal resource was equivalent to 4043933,227 dollars.