Valoração econômica do Parque Nacional da Serra do Cipó (MG): uma aplicação do método contingente

Abstract

Given the possible use of environmental valuation techniques to support the conservation of natural areas, we aimed to calculate the monetary value of the benefits provided by the Parque Nacional da Serra do Cipó (PNSC), in Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The PNSC is located in a region composed mostly by rupestrian grassland ecosystems (“campos rupestres”) in addition to other Cerrado physiognomies and is under intense anthropogenic pressure. Through the contingent valuation method (CVM), we calculated the visitors willingness to pay (WTP) for the conservation of ecosystems of the PNSC. Through econometric estimative using the database consisting of 514 questionnaires, we found that the WTP of the visitors corresponds to ~ R$ 716,000.00 (ca. US$ 366,000.00) per year. Using the logit model, we detected some variables, such as per capita income, number of dependents, level of interest in issues related to environment and hometown, significantly influenced the decision between willing or not willing to pay for the conservation of the PNSC. While, through the tobit model, we showed that the explanatory variables with significant effect on the declared value of WTP included age, income, number of dependents, whether or not already visited the PNSC, and hometown. We also built a brief systematization of the existing debate about the implementation of CVM between schools of neoclassical environmental economics and ecological economics thoughts. We suggest that the use of ecological-economic modeling during the questionnaires application may be able to contribute to produce more reliable and realistic WTP estimative. This study is part of a broader effort to capture the economic values of ecosystem services in Serra do Cipó. With this approach we expect attracting attention from decision makers as well as society to the importance of conserving the ecosystems of the region. Despite the rupestrian grassland ecosystems and other Cerrado areas encompass many natural resources, which are often explored without any sustainable plan, the services provided by these ecosystems are their true richness. These services, unlike many of the goods traded by the market, if maintained properly, represent illimitable sources of direct and indirect benefits to society.