Herramienta para la valoración económica ambiental del recurso pesquero del Parque Nacional Natural Gorgona

Abstract

The most representative problems faced by the protected areas are related to the different alterations of the ecosystems, both the Gorgona National Natural Park and the surrounding communities have to deal with environmental pollution, ocean acidification, overfishing and other problems that generate scarcity of natural resources that cause the degradation of ecosystems. Considering the above, a tool was designed to analyze the economic valuation of the fishing resource, highlighting the importance of conservation for the fishing communities that use the natural resources, as well as the understanding of the contributions of the environmental services provided by the island. To this end, initially, an analysis of the state of the fishing resource and the population involved was carried out by searching for information on economic valuation studies in protected areas and the methods used, as well as the perception and quality of life of the people involved in the activity. Next, an economic valuation exercise of the fishery resource was developed using the market price method for the years 1998 to 2011 and, finally, a guide was developed that allows the protected area to use the tool. The result of the economic valuation of the fishery resource yielded a value of $22.612.622 Colombian pesos, based on the 18 species considered for this study, together with the external variables that prevent capture with fishing gear other than the spinel, which hinders the extraction of the fishery resource on a larger scale. The Google Data Studio tool facilitated the analysis of the catch volume and the interpretation of the environmental economic valuation, additionally, it allows knowing the periods in which more fish of a species are caught compared to others and the incidence of such catches, associating the result to an ecosystemic, economic and social benefit.