ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT: THE RESEARCH TREND IN MEXICO AND LATIN AMERICA

Abstract

Background. The results of the economic valuation of ecosystems facilitate their management and conservation, although they frequently focus on the economic valuation of the resource per se, and the willingness to pay for its touristic use, frequently leaving aside the valuation from the perspective of the inhabitants who live in the area of influence of the ecosystems or who closely depend on them. Objective. To analize the trend that economic valuation studies have followed in Latin America, during the period between 2011 and 2022, is analyzed with the aim of determining the type of interest that motivates researchers, that is, to identify the value assigned by the visitor and the value that the settler asigns. Methodology. Publications on economic valuation studies were analyzed, with emphasis on the Contingent Valuation Method in Latin America, related to tourism (ecotourism and nature tourism) and the use of natural resources. The search was performed in open access databases. The publications were classified by type, subject and country of origin. Peer reviewed documents, thesis and final reports of projects consistent with the theme were considered. Main finding. The results obtained, revealed that the trend of research in Latin America in this last decade, in terms of economic valuation of ecosystems, has been mainly directed towards visitors to determine the value that they assign to the ecosystem based on their preferences and travel satisfaction, in terms of Willingness to Pay, according to the Contingent Valuation Method. In the case of the economic valuation works under the aforementioned method, but aimed at knowing the value that the ecosystems have for the inhabitants, it was observed that the variables that are most related to the Willingness to Accept Compensation are the level of studies and the income/occupation. Implications. Inevitably, economic valuation studies must include social, cultural and environmental aspects under which the communities that depend on the ecosystem are governed, because evaluating only quantitative variables could underestimate the real value, since they are not developed under the consideration of the social context that makes visible the effort to pay or accept compensation. Conclusion. It is necessary to include methodological approaches that comprehensively evaluate the resources by including intangible values (culture, history, uses and customs), in an inclusive strategy effort, which allows the original communities to maintain their identity and, at the same time, to be competitive in the nature tourism market, without losing sight of the conservation of the appropriate ecosystems.