Environmental Economic Valuation for Tourist Purposes in the Municipal Conservation Area of the “Asociación Hídrica Aguajal Renacal Alto Mayo”

The study aimed to assess economically and environmentally the Municipal Conservation Area of the “Asociación Hídrica Aguajal Renacal, Alto Mayo”, situated in the region of San Martin, in Peru; for tourism purposes. The direct use value including wood, medicinal plants, aguaje, orchids, fauna, tourism and recreation, as well as bird watching was estimated at S / 58,163,291.30 per year; however, the indirect use value was determined by Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and water service, reaching an estimated amount of S / 7,678,141.65 per year and the existence value was estimated by the amount of S / 78,187.50 per year; all values were determined by the market price method. The option value was estimated via the application of the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM), reaching the amount of S / 37,460 per year. The estimated benefits allowed demonstrating that effective ecosystems management can generate sufficient financial resources to become self-sustainable. For this reason, the importance of using the economic and environmental valuation allows the implementation of economic efficiency of policies for sustainable management and conservation of biodiversity in species and ecosystems of the Amazon biome.