Economic valuation of the limnetic service of Magdalena-Atillo lake - Riobamba Ecuador

Abstract

The present paper is a proposal of socio-economic sustainability of the water resource of the Magdalena lagoon in the Atillo lake complex of the Sangay National Park in the province of Chimborazo, by means of the indirect method of travel costs. In this study, spatial indicators of hydric situation are established and homogeneous units are established with GIS techniques, in order to find the optimal distance to apply the concentric circle methodology in the use of the econometric tool of travel costs. According to the image analysis, it can be concluded that the lake is in retreat; however, it still has limnimetric limits that are still stable. Because of this, it is proposed to limit the number of visits to the area to less than 300 per month and cost opportunity is proposed, for socio-economic sustainability, from the homogeneous units, where the price is considered by estimating the market price, the result being equal to the cost of the trip + Cost of travel time, based on the average stay time that does not exceed one day for the support of the ecosystem