Sensibilidad al alcance en la valoración económica de la conservación de la biodiversidad en el Perú: el caso del Parque Nacional del Manu
Journal
Manglar
ISSN
1816-7667
Date Issued
2025-12-22
Author(s)
Carlos Minaya
Carlos Orihuela
José Dávila
Duber Chinguel
Type
journal-article
URL Institutional Repository
Abstract
Designing biodiversity conservation policies requires not only estimating social benefits but also confirming that results exhibit sensitivity to scope — a necessary methodological condition for validity. This means that willingness to pay (WTP) should increase monotonically with the size or quantity of the goods. This study evaluates that effect in the economic valuation of biodiversity conservation in Manu National Park, Peru, based on specific attributes. A total of 2,240 choice experiments were conducted with household heads in Lima through face-to-face surveys, and logit models were applied to estimate marginal WTP. Results show that the most valued attributes are reducing endangered plant species (PEN 5.08/month) and reducing deforestation (PEN 4.69/month); however, no attribute showed sensitivity to range. Latent class analysis identified two heterogeneous preference groups regarding biodiversity conservation in this protected area. The “pro-conservation” group (78.3%) assigned positive and significant values to all attributes except the reduction from 24 to 8 endangered fauna species. This lack of scope sensitivity may stem from Peru’s status as a megadiverse country, where the inherent non-use value of biodiversity alone could justify in situ conservation policies involving modest costs for relatively few species or specific charismatic habitats.