Determination of the Availability of Payment for Conservation and Improvement Activities of Wetlands Ecosystem of the Huaraz City, Peru

Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) was used with the purpose of determining the willingness to pay (WTP) of the citizens of Huaraz city – Peru (Ancash Region) in order to estimate a financial fund to subsidize the design and implementation of conservation and restoration activities of the wetland ecosystem. To estimate the WTP, a LOGIT probabilistic model was used; which is based on the theoretical proposal of Bishop-Heberlein. Results indicate that the most influential variables in the WTP, are a set of variables of “appreciation” (of the citizen's) regarding the ecological importance of the wetlands in their region. However, socioeconomic variables, such as income, age, education, etc., were not significant in explaining the WTP variation. The best statistical indicator for measuring the WTP was the median, which was estimated at $1.05 USD/family/month, revealing that in Ancash region (Peru) it could raise annually by an estimated of $312,266 USD. An important conclusion is that economic valuation is key to design and implement activities of conservation and improvement of the wetlands, this being the beginning of a process that will end successfully if some remaining steps are completed.