Valoración económica de la regulación hídrica en la subcuenca la quebrada El Tirque en el PNN Pisba.

Abstract

The economic valuation of the ecosystem service of the water regulation of the micro-basin arose from the need of the PNN Pisba to know in monetary terms the value that the water regulation that the páramo offers to the users of the Socha municipal aqueduct represents. The study was able to calculate the opportunity cost (OC) of the cattle producers in the Pisba páramo, especially in the upper basin of the Tirque ravine to know their opportunity cost (OC) and thus identify the value of changing these activities for others more sustainable with the environment. The OC offers an annual net benefit of $480,533 in leased pastures and $840,533 in land under the jurisdiction of PNN Pisba; In addition to this, surveys were carried out using the contingent valuation methodology in order to know the willingness to pay (WTP) of the downstream inhabitants to conserve the water regulation service, with $1,455 being the maximum value that could be charged having as variables the most significant were age (p-value=0.005), whether it considers whether the micro-watershed is being protected or not (p-value=0.047) and income level (p-value=0.050).