Economic Valuation of Ecotourism in Support of Conservation at the Cuicocha Lake, Cotacachi Cayapas Reserve, Ecuador-South America
By David Cotacachi, BS
1.Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Cumbaya, Pichincha, Ecuador2 Oleoducto de Crudos Pesados (OCP) Ecuador SA., Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador3 Otavalo Kichwa Tours, Otavalo, Imbabura, Ecuador

ABSTRACT- Environmental services have monetary value. Landscapes and natural beauty are important for developing ecotourism in protected areas. The main goal of this research was to determine the economic value of the natural beauty of Lake Cuicocha in the Cotacachi Cayapas Ecological Reserve, in Northwestern Ecuador. Since Cuicocha belongs to The National System of Protected Areas of Ecuador (SNAP) and to the municipality of Cotacachi with some private lands and some indigenous community lands, the management of this area is difficult, reducing the opportunities to develop ecotourism and reducing the economic value of Cuicocha. Travel costs and contingent valuation methods were used to simulate a market for environmental services of Cuicocha for recreational purposes. An in-situ interview of 150 individuals was carried out to determine the willingness of visitors to pay for their recreational satisfaction. 		This information was used to construct the demand function for the site and to estimate the consumer surplus or economic value of the site and its natural beauty. The annual economic benefit for year 2002 was calculated over U.S. $194,194 with the travel cost method and U.S. $531,802 with the contingent valuation method. This methods of environmental valuation can also be used to make rapid economical assessment before threshold decision determines developing or not on the Lake Cuicocha area in order to finance conservation. This method has potential applications to conservation management in other parks and conservation areas
Key words: Cotacachi, Ecuador, Cuicocha, Cayapas
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