Valoración económica ambiental del recurso vegetación de la parroquia Pungalá, cantón Riobamba, provincia de Chimborazo

Abstract

The objective of this research work was to determine the environmental economic value of the vegetation resource in the Pungalá rural parish of Riobamba canton, Chimborazo province. The baseline survey was carried out through information collected using cartographic maps for the delimitation of the area, the resource was identified and characterized, as well as, the importance of plant production and land use was determined to subsequently identify the main ecosystem services from the plant resource in the parish. Also, surveys conducted aimed at the population to know the perception of the resource by carrying summary tables, figures, diagrams, and nonparametric statistical test. In the evaluation of the 8 ecosystem services identified in the parish, the qualification is high, having the provisioning service with the best qualification, making the tangible services the ones that the residents have the best perception in the parish. The environmental economic value as determined by the value of direct use, taking into account the agricultural, dairy production, and the consumption of irrigation, and human water of the parish, obtaining and annual value of $ 2 988 962.12 and applying the inferential analytical method, the excess of the willingness to pay in the population, were and annual value of $ 17 320.40 was obtained, thus getting a total economic value for the conservation and technical management of the plant resource in the parish of $ 3 006 282.52, exceeding 11.87 times the budget of the Gobierno Autónomo Descentralizado Parroquial ($ 253 108.58) and 5.54 times the budget of the Gobierno Autónomo Descentralizado Municipal which is ($ 542 772.09), concluding that the conservation and technical management of the Resource is vitally important, so, it this recommended to develop a natural resource management plan.